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laai  II  ^  1 1  I  sf*>*>*»ii*«i>*iii<ti 


CLARKE    &    CO., 

CHICAGO,  tLE. 


AN  AUTHENTIC  EXPOSITION 


66 


K.  G.  Cr 


"KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE;' 


A  niSTORY  OF  SECESSION  FROM  1834  TO  1861. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  ORDER 


INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.: 


DEDICATION. 


TO  THE 

'mHCOMPBOMISING  FRIENDS  OF   AMERICAN  FBEKDOM, 

WHETriER   LIVING   NORTH  OR   SOUTH; 

TO    THOSE 

WHO   PREFER   DEATH    TO   THE   DESTRUCTION   OF  THE   UNIOS 

AND  THE   ANNIHILATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION, 

THIS  WORK 

18  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 

BY  THE  AUTHO 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Consresa,  in  the  year  1801,  ky 
C.  O.  PERRINE, 
U  tilt  Clerk's  Ofiioe  of  the  Df'strlot  Coart  of  the  U.  8.  for  the  District  of  ladii 


CONTENTS. 


CIIArTER  I. 


The  Origin  of  the  Order — Southern  Rights  CKibs — The  African  Slave 
Trade  and  the  acquisition  of  new  Slave  Territory — The  first  Organiza- 
tion in  1834,  and  its  success — The  Afexican  War  and  the  South'* 
interest  in  it — Progress  of  the  Slave  Trade  up  to  1852 — Acquisition 
of  Cuba,  Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Couiproniise,  Nicaragua  Expeditiocs, 
etc.,  to  increase  Membership. 

CHAPTER  II. 
Increase  of  Anti-Slavery  Sentiment  at  the  Nortli,  and  its  effect  upon 
Southrons — General  George  C.  Bickley's  advent  in  1855 — The  firstly 
Systematize  the  Order  of  the  K.  G.  C— Details  of  the  Organization — 
Its  Objects,  Solemn  Oaths,  and  Forms  of  Initiation — Its  secret  influence 
upon  the  Politics  of  the  Country — Speech  in  Castle  of  a  Knight — 
General  William  Walker  and  Fiiiibustering. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  year  1858 — The  Kansas  Struggle  and  the  Lecompton  Constitution — 
Increased  growth  of  tlie  K.  G.  C. — Change  of  Ritual — Secession  advo- 
cated, and  the  South  united  througli  its  workings — The  Order  popu- 
larized— The  Regalia,  Symbols,  and  Workings  of  the  Degrees  and 
"Inner  Temple" — Application  for  a  Castle  in  a  Northern  city  refused 
— Firing  of  the  Southern  Heart  in  1859-'60 — Presidential  Contest  of 
I860 — Instrumentality  of  the  K.  G.  C.  in  dissolving  the  Democratic 
Convention — Opposition  to  Douglas — Speech  in  a  New  Orleans  Castle 
— The  Charleston  and  Baltimore  Conventions — The  insincerity  of 
Southrons. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Contest  of  1860 — The  Breckinridge  m®vement,  and  the  insincerity 
of  its  opposition  to  Lincoln — The  K.  G.  C.  at  the  North  and  the  Soutn 
— Misrepresentations  by  Northern  Knights — Some  of  their  Boasting 
Letters — Aid  cxpecied  from  the  North  in  case  of  Secession — New 
Emblem  of  the  Order — Plans  to  steal  Arms  and  Money  from  the  U.  8. 
matured  in  Castle  in  1859 — Lincoln  and  Hamlin  Scarecrow  at  the 
South — Stories  of  the  Campaign,  and  their  almost  general  belief- 
Treatment  of  Northerners  at  the  South. 

CHAPTER  V 
r\e  close  of  Lincoln's  Campaign — "  Submissionists  " — '-'Firing  the 
Southern  Heart"  for  Secession — Great  increase  of  the  Knighthood — 
New  Degrees  instituted— The  Sworn  Brotherhood  pledged  to  a  South- 
ern Government — Death  of  Abolitionists  and  other  Crimes  licensed— 
The  election  of  Lincoln  a  plea  for  "  Southern  Deliverance  "—Charles- 
ton Castle — The  "Cockade"  excitement — Joy  over  the  Election  of 
Lincoln — "  Co-operation  ists  "  confounded  by  the  "Precipitators" — 
Immediate  Secession  the  war-cry  of  the  K.  G.  C. — The  Secession  of 
South  Carolina,  and  its  effect  ujoon  the  Gulf  States— The  K.  G.  C. 
opposed  to  Compromises— The  different  Modes  of  Adjustment  pro- 
posed in  Congress  hooted  at 

5G333i  ^^ 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Correspondence  between  Southern  and  Northern  Knightfl — Men  9«d 
means  proffered — The  plan  to  assassinate  Lincoln  and  seize  the  Capi- 
tal— Lincoln's  Inaugural — The  "  Coercion"  bugbear  of  the  K.  G.  C. — 
Excitement  m  the  Cotton  States — The  Military  Spirit  arouaed — 
Floyd's  Treason — Statement  of  the  "Stealings" — A  revival  of  the 
Union  feeling  prior  to  the  fall  of  Sumter — The  "  Confederate  States'" 
Government — The  attack  on  Sumter  a  Southern  necessity — The  Order 
becoming  unpopular,  and  an  increased  military  .spirit  necessary  to 
revive  it — The  Border  States  and  the  Knights  thereof — Speech  of  a 
^  Kentuckian — The  Rattlesnake's  Charm — The  Love  for  the  American 
Flag. 

CHAPTER  YIL 

The  Bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter — Its  effect  upon  the  Border  States — 
Agents  of  the  K.  G.  C.  at  work — Their  cool  reception  in  Southern 
Indiana  and  Illinois — Gag  law  and  Mob  rule — Prentice,  Guthrie, 
Johnson,  and  Brownlow  classed  as  "  Hard-Shells  " — The  manner  iu 
which  proselytes  are  made — The  candidate  in  the  ante-room — The 
"Preliminary  Degrees,"  their  Forms,  Symbols,  and  Oaths — The 
**  Outer  Temple" — Its  initiatory  ceremonies — The  outside  designs  of 
the  Order — How  Conventions,  Legislatures,  and  Elections  are  con- 
trolled— "  Knights'  Safety  Guards  "  and  ''  Knights  Gallant " — South- 
em  Ladies  sent  North  as  Spies — Plans  to  destroy  Property  at  the 
North — Northern  Sympathizers. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  North  too  confident — The  Southern  strength  underrated — The 
extent  of  the  Brotherhood  at  the  North,  and  in  the  Border  States — 
Kentucky's  Neutrality — The  "  State  Guard  "  controlled  by  the  K.  G.  C. 
— The  Governor  of  Kentucky  a  Knight — The  "War  of  1861 — Justice 
unknown  to  the  Traitor  Fraternity — The  Sword  the  only  Argument 
that  will  exact  Justice — Vigilance  at  the  North  essential — The  feeling 
at  the  South  since  the  "War  began — Negro  insurrections — Brutality 
of  the  Knights — Their  mode  of  carrying  on  the  War — What  they  in- 
tend to  accomplish. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Yancey  and  Toombs — The  Slave  Trade  and  Fillibustering — Northern 
Sympathizers  v/ith  the  latter — The  "  Abolition  "  scarecrow — The  Le- 
compton  Swindle  the  work  of  the  K.  G.  C. — Bimilarity  of  that  fraud 
with  Secession  operations — The  impetus  given  the  Secession  move- 
ment by  the  Republican  leaders  iu  1S60 — The  Breckinridge  party  a 
Secession  Organization. 

CHAPTER  X. 
What  the  K.  O.  C.  intend  to  do  with  their  Government  should  they 
succeed  in  their  Designs — The  renewal  of  the  Slave  Trade — The  rea- 
sons why  nothing  is  said  of  Slave  Trade  now — The  establishment  of 
an  Aristocracy — The  War  of  1861— Northern  depreciation  of  Southera 
Btrengtii. 

CHAPTER   XI. 
The  military  character  of  the  K.  G.  C. — "George  "S^'^ashington  Lafay- 
ette Bickley  " — What  the  South  can  do — What  wo  must  do,  etc. 


i< 


EXPOSITION 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE/' 


CHAPTER  I. 


TifK  Origiv  or  xni:  Order — Southern  Rights'  Clubs — thb  Af- 
rican J^i.AVE  Trade  and  the  acquisition  of  new  Slavk  Terri- 
tory  THE     FIR.ST  OrOANIZATION   IN   1834,  AND  ITS  SUCCESS THB 

Mexican  War,  and  the  South's  interest  in  it — Progress  of 
THE  Slave  Trade  up  to  1852 — Acquisition  of  Cuba,  Repeal  op 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  Nicaragua  Expeditions,  etc.,  used 
to  increase  Membership. 

The  Order  of  which  1  propose  writinii;  an  exposition  was,  for 
many  years,  like  the  earth  in  its  primordial  condition,  "without 
form,  and  void."  It  did  not  receive  its  present  name  until  about 
the  year  1855.  The  principles  upon  which  it  is  based,  however, 
and  the  actuating;  motives  which  pervade  its  membership,  have 
existed  nearl}'-  thirty  years.  About  the  dose  of  the  year  1834, 
there  were  to  be  found,  in  Charlest«>n,  New  Orleans,  and  some 
other  Honthern  cities,  a  few  politicians  who  earnestly  desired  the 
re-estxiblishment  of  the  African  slave-trade  and  the  acquisition  of 
new  slave  territory.  They  believed  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  a  tyrannical  document,  since  it  prohibited  the 
slave-trade,  and  reirarded  it  as  a  system  of  piracy.  The  American 
Union,  therefore,  had  its  enemies  almost  from  its  very  childhood. 
These  men  formed  themselves  into  secret  juntos,  which,  without 
any  particular  form  or  ritual,  were  called  S.  R.  C 's,  (Southern 
Rights  Clubs.)  They  had  certain  signs  of  recognition,  by  which 
they  made  themselves  known  to  each  other,  and  met  weekly,  semi- 
weekly,  or  otherwise,  as  the  cause  which  they  labored  to  promote 
eeemed  to  demand.  They  might  have  had,  at  this  early  day,  some 
Bort  of  constitution  and  rules  of  regulation,  but  of  these  little  is 
now  known.  f^r^r^r^r^^ 

000*^v>  jL  (5) 


6  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

The  African  slave-trade  being  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  laws  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  it  waa  not 
hoped  to  carrj  it  on  in  an  open  manner.  The  first  efforts  of  the 
8.  K.  O.'s,  therefore,  were  directed  to  the  fitting  out,  manning,  and 
equipping  of  secret  shivers,  which  were  to  cruise  around  the  Afri- 
can coast  and  kidnap  negroes  whenever  a  good  opportunity  was 
afforded.  Between  the  years  1834  and  1840  it  is  presumed  that 
at  least  six  of  these  vessels  were  equipped  and  sent  out.  Some 
of  them  were  successful,  and  tilled  tlie  measure  of  their  appoint- 
ment, while  others  were  captured  by  F^nglish  and  other  fleets,  to 
the  great  mortification  of  the  S.  Ji.  C.'s,  and  the  discouragcmenli 
of  tlieir  enterprise.  They  did  not,  however,  "give  up  the  ship" 
in  consequence  of  these  discouragements,  but  continued  their  slave 
piracy  with  renewed  vigor,  whenever  it  seemed  possible  to  conceal 
their  maneuverings. 

Time  roiled  on,  and  every  year  seemed  to  add  strength  and  mag- 
nitude to  this  abominable  piratical  clique,  until  the  year  1844, 
when  the  prospect  of  the  war  with  Mexico  seemed  to  give  them 
great  hope  of  the  acquisition  of  new  slave  territory.  Their  glori- 
ous dreams  of  the  growth  and  extension  of  the  slave  power  seemed 
now  in  a  fair  way  to  be  realized.  In  the  mean  time  they  had,  in 
their  secret  juntos,  done  all  in  their  power  to  elevate  and  to  con- 
tinue in  office,  at  Washington,  such  congressional  representatives 
as  were  suited  to  their  peculiar  views.  These  were  persistent  and 
untiring  in  their  efforts  to  inflame  the  United  States  Government 
against  Mexico  and  Spain,  in  the  hope  that  a  war  would  be  the 
result,  and  thereby  an  opportunity  afforded  for  the  absorption  of 
Southern  territory.  Wherever  it  seemed  possible  to  make  out  a 
case  of  insult,  it  was  done;  and  the  most  trivial  circumstances 
were  magnified  into  insufferable  abuses.  Here  is  given  the  reason 
why  Southern  politicians  were  so  much  warmer  in  their  support 
of  the  Mexican  war  than  those  of  the  North,  as  a  general  thing, 
and  also  the  reason  why  Southern  States  furnished  so  many  more 
volunteers  for  the  war  than  did  the  Northern  States.  They  felt 
that  the  successful  termination  of  this  war  was  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  them,  and,  consequently,  were  very  forward  in 
its  promotion. 

1  have  heard  a  few  persons  complaining,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  war,  that  the  "  North  allowed  the  South  to 
do  the  fighting  in  Mexico."  Let  the  instantaneous  reply  be, 
"They  had  more  interest  in  that  war  than  we."  I  do  not  wish 
to  be  understood  here  as  saying  that  the  Mexican  war  was  an 
unjust  one,  or  that  the  United  States  Government  had  no  cause 
for  it.  I  merely  wish  to  put  it  plainly  before  the  people  that  the 
Southern  States  had  a  peculiar  interest  in  it. 

The  war  with  Mexico  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  Texas,  New 
Mexico,  and  California  were  added  to  the  United  States  domain; 
but  Cuba  was  still  out.     The  consciousness  of  this  deficiency  lefl 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE  GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  I 

an  ajhing  void  in  tlic  "  Southeru  heart,"  and,  forthwith,  fillibus- 
terine;  espeditions  into  Cuba  were  matured  and  set  on  foot  by  the 
members  of  the  S.  11.  C.'s,  not  in  the  hope  that  such  expeditions 
would,  in  themselves,  terminate  successfully,  but  with  a  view  to 
8u  embroilin;!  the  United  States  and  Spanish  Governments,  that 
another  acquisitive  war  would  be  waired  by  the  former  against  the 
latter,  and  Cuba  thereby  wrested  from  its  former  owners.  This 
scheme  was  not  altogether  successful,  although  it  certainly  did 
make  advocates  to  the  policy  of  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  through- 
out the  United  States. 

In  the  year  1852,  the  S.  R.  C.'s  had  become  more  numerous, 
and  their  organization  was  more  highly  perfected.  Some  two  or 
three  slavers  were  at  this  time  plying  successfully  betAveen  the 
African  coast  and  the  Southern  Gulf  States,  but  their  places  of 
landing  were,  of  course,  unknown  to  any  but  the  S.  R.  C.'s.  Par- 
ticular attention  was  now  directed  to  the  ingrafting  of  the  policy 
of  tiie  acquisition  of  Cuba  into  the  Democratic  platform.  It  was 
confidently  hoped  to  make  it  a  national  Democratic  doctrine.  In 
thi.-i  they  were,  to  a  considerable  extent,  successful;  and  there  is 
but  little  doubt  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  agitation  of  the 
slavery  question  between  the  years  lS50-'54,  the  acquisition  of 
Cuba,  either  by  purchase  or  conquest,  would  have  become  the 
loading  political  issue  of  the  country.  Many  Northern  Democrats 
were  strongly  opposed  to  the  polic}',  but  no  Southern  ones  were. 
In  the  Spring  of  1854,  it  became  apparent  to  the  Southern  ex- 
tremists that  t!ie  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  caused 
a  great  political  revolution  in  the  Northern  States ;  that  the  old 
Whig  party  had  become  extinct,  and  that  its  former  adherents, 
together  with  many  old  Democrats,  were  building  up  a  new  party, 
'lliis  was  the  so-called  Know-Nothing  party,  which,  although  it 
professed  to  be  purely  American,  was  the  legitimate  two-fold  result 
of  the  entire  defeat  of  the  Whig  party  and  the  repeal  of  the  Com- 
promise just  alluded  to.  Shrewd  Southern  politicians  did  not 
fail  to  see  the  strong  Free-soil  clement  which  was  gradually  devel- 
oping in  this  party.  The  sweeping  victory  vrhich  the  K.  N.'s 
achieved  in  the  congressional  and  state  elections  of  1854  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  Southern  Democrats  to  the  fact  that  the  old  na- 
tional party  of  which  they  had  presumed  they  had  almost  com- 
plete control,  was  not  so  invincible  as  had  been  suoDosed. 


EXPOSITION    OF   THE 


CHAPTER  II. 

Increase  of  Anti-Slavery  Sentiment  at  tub  North,  and  its  ef- 
fect T-poN  South  lit  »Ns — (tenkral  George  C.  Bicki.ey's  advent 
ry  1S55 — THE  KIR.ST  to  Systematize  the  Order  of  the  K.  G,  (■. 
—Details  or  the  Okoani/.ation — its  OBJ^x:T.s,  Solemn  Oaths, 
AND  Forms  of  Initiation — its  secret  influence  upon  the  Pol- 
itics OF  the  Coi'NTRY— vSpKKCH  IN  CaSTLE  OF  A  KnIGHT GEN- 
ERAL William  W alki:r  and  Fillibustering. 

In  1855,  it  Avan  noticed  that  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the 
North  was  growini^r  stiJl  stronger,  and  it  was,  in  fact,  p;cnerallv 
thought  by  Southrons  that  the  Democratic  party  was  becominlr 
almost  extinct  there,  from  the  large  numbers  that  had  deserted  it 
in  consequence  of  their  Free-soil  proclivities.  It  wtus  about  this 
time  that  a  certain  George  G.  Bickley,  who  was  a  native  of  IJoone 
county,  Indiana,  but,  at  the  period  alluded  to,  resided  in  Ginc'in- 
nati,  went  South,  and,  having  espoused  the  cause  of  the  S.  R.  G.'.><, 
i:ook  it  in  hand  to  reduce  them  to  a  more  perfect  state  of  organ- 
ization. Having  framed  a  constitution,  by-laws,  and  ritual,  and 
having  cilocted  thereby  all  the,  to  him,  necessary  changes  and 
moditications  in  the  Order,  he  chri.stened  it  with  the  highly 
•'chivalrous"  name  of  Knu;iits  of  the  (jtolden  Circle.  The  sev- 
eral divisions  of  the  K.  G.  C,  according  to  the  new  constitution, 
were  called  Castles.  As  in  the  case  of  most  other  secret  orders, 
there  were  subordinate  castles,  and  a'Grand  (Jastle,  State  Castle,  or 
Legion.*  The  officers  of  the  subordinate  castle  consisted  of  a  cap- 
tain, lieutenant,  secretary,  treasurer,  guard,  (for  the  inner  door,) 
sentinel,  (for  the  outer  door,)  a  corresponding  secretary,  and  con- 
ductor. The  officers  of  the  Grand  Castle  were  the  same  as  those 
of  the  subordinates,  with  the  addition  of  the  prefix  Grand.  Their 
new  constitution  set  forth,  in  its  first  article,  as  one  of  the  pi-iu- 
cipal  objects  of  the  order,  the  acquisition  of  Cuba,  Mexico,  and 
Nicaragua,  In  another  article,  the  members  are  pledged  to  stand 
united  in  the  promotion  of  Southern  interests,  and  opposition  tv» 
the  encroachments  of  abolitionism;  and  still,  in  another,  they 
are  pledged,  in  case  of  any  encroachment  on  the  part  of  the 
•United  States  Government,  to  do  all  within  their  power  to  estab- 

*  All  the  State  Legions,  or  Grand  State  Castles,  are  represented  by  delegates  in  what 
is  termed  the  Grand  United  States  or  American  Legion.  From  this  body  all  the  laws 
gorerning  sUite  and  subordinate  eastles  emanate,  as  also  do  the  military  laws,  or,  an 
they  are  generally  termed,  "Articles  of  War."  These  ••  Articles  «)f  War"  requlr* 
regular  military  drill,  especially  in  the  use  of  the  bayonot  and  sword.  Euigbt* 
^greatly  pnde  thcmst-lves  on  their  swoidsmanehip. 


KNIOHTS  OP  THE  GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  V 

lish  a  "  free  Southern  Government."  The  ritual  of  this  period 
required  of  the  candidate,  in  the  first  pLice,  the  most  solemn  oath 
that  he  would  never  divulge  anythina;  he  should  see  or  hear  after 
he  entered  the  sacred  portals  of  the  castle.  Having  entered  the 
castle,  he  was  sworn  to  use  all  his  efforts  and  powers  in  the  fur- 
therance of  the  objects  set  forth  in  the  constitution,  viz. :  the 
absorption  of  Southern  tnrritorv.  and  the  promotion  of  Southern 
interests.  Nothinn;  is  said  in  either  the  constitution  or  ritual 
directly  of  the  slave  piracy,  for  the  reason  that  it  wns  feared  that, 
by  sonie  kind  of  accident,  *'the  papers"  miglit  fall  into  the  hand^ 
oif  the  "persecuting  government."  This  portion  of  their  business 
had  not  boon  forgotten,  however,  for,  during  the  years  1855-6. 
they  equipped  and  sent  out  three  slavers,  two  of  which  were 
highly  successful  in  their  operations;  one  of  them,  however,  was 
captured  by  an  Knglish  fleet. 

The  year  1S56  gave  the  Knights  a  new  impetus,  and  added  many 
to  their  numbers,  in  consequence  of  the  very  larq;e  growth  of  tiie 
anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the  North  durins:  that  year,  an  especial 
manifestation  of  which  w;is  afforded  by  the  Presidential  campaign. 
It  was  now  that  the  rank  pro-slavery  tree  bei;an  to  produce  tlif^ 
buds  of  secession  Every  effort  v.-as  put  forth  to  test  the  North 
and  the  General  Government  respecting  the  policy  of  absorption 
of  Soutlievn  territory.  This  policy  had  been  pretty  strongly 
hinted  at  in  the  Cincinnati  Platform,  upon  which  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  then  running;  but  hints  did  not  satisfy  them.  They  wcr*" 
bound  to  have  the  plain  and  explicit  declaration  from  the  national 
Democratic  party,  that  "we  are  in  favor  of  the  acquisition  of 
Cuba,"  or  dissolve  thoir  connection  with  it,  and,  if  needs  be,  witli 
the  government.  A  few  paragraphs  from  the  filed  speeches  of 
cnstle  C,  New  Orleans,  at  this  period  will  give  the  reader  a  pretty 
clear  idea  of  the  spirit  and  intent  of  the  Knights.  In  perusing 
tliesc  speeches,  passages  such  as  the  following  occur: 

"The  South  can  only  hope  for  the  real  enjoyment  of  its  rights 
in  a  Southern  Confederacy,  if  the  signs  of  tlie  times  mean  anything. 
Even  the  Democratic  party  is  becoming  Abolitionized.  We  want 
more  territory:  we  must  have  it;  but  can  we  hope  to  acquire  it 
while  the  Abolitionists  stand  in  our  way,  and  the  indl'.ierent  De- 
mocracy refuse  to  give  us  aid?  Who  can  not  see  that  the  Demo- 
cratic party  is  becomiu'i  aholiiionized  ?  Wh}'  does  not  the  present 
administration  (Pierce's)  carry  out  the  principles  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act  in  Kansas  Territory?  Why  does  it  allow  those 
Emigrant  Aid  Societies  of  Massachusetts  to  send  their  pauper  cut- 
throats to  disturb  and  endanger  our  people  in  the  common  territory 
of  the  United  States  ?" 

Another  specimen : 

"We  must  have  C-uba  and  Mexico.     The  North  is  vastly  out- 


10  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

^owin,::  us  in  t^ritory  and  population.  If  we  can't  get  territory 
in  the  Union,  we  can  out  of  it.  1  do  not  feel  like  awaiting  the 
slow  steps  of  the  Northern  Democracy." 

In  the  mean  time  they  were  becoming  pretty  sick  of  the  Kan- 
sas-Kebraska  bill,  as  is  manifest  in  the  following,  which  I  quote 
from  memory : 

'*  What  advantage  have  we  gained  by  the  Nebraska  bill  ?  None 
whatever.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  positively  lost.  While  the 
Mis.souri  Compromise  lino  stood,  we  had  some  territory  which  we 
(•ould  call  our  own,  and  of  Avhich  we  were  sure.  But  how  is  it 
since  that  line  is  destroyed?  Why,  before  one  Southern  man  can 
get  ready  to  migrate  with  his  property,  (niggcr.s,)  they  send  a 
whole  legion  of  Yankee  Abolitionists  to  Kansas  to  cut  his  throat 
and  steal  his  negroes.  The  whole  American  Government  is  really 
becoming  a  grand  Abolition  machine,  which,  even  in  thi:  hands 

01"  DE.M0CaATS,  IS  DESTINED  TO  CRUSH  OUT  EVERY  VESTIGE  OF  SoUTH- 
KKN  LIBERTY." 

Becoming  impatient  with  the  slow  movements  of  the  United 
States  Government  respecting  the  acquisition  of  territory,  the 
Knights  resolved  to  try  another  fillibustering  expedition.  For  the 
heading  of  this  expedition  they  had,  in  their  own  ranks,  one  of  the 
most  daring  and  courageous  of  "  chivalrous  "  adventurers.  1  allude 
to  the  no  less  personage  than  General  Walker.  This  gentleman 
was  duly  furnished  and  equipped  with  ships,  men,  and  money  by 
the  liberal  members  of  the  K.  G.  C.,  and  sent  out  to  "  take  Nicar- 
agua." How  he  took  it,  everybody  knows.  But,  as  in  the  in- 
stance of  the  Cuban  fillibuster  war,  the  effort  was  not  expected  to 
prove  successful,  but  was  merely  thrown  out  as  a  feeler,  to  deter- 
mine the  condition  of  Uncle  Sam's  pulse.  After  Mr.  Buchanan's 
accession  to  power.  Walker's  expeditions  were  renewed  with  in- 
creased energy ;  and  it  was  sincerely  hoped  that,  by  some  ingenious 
maneuver,  he  would  induce  somebody  to  "insult"  the  United 
States,  so  that  a  good  excuse  might  be  afforded  for  an  aggressive 
war.  In  tliis  expectation,  however,  they  were  greatly  disappointed; 
for  nobody  did  insult  the  United  States,  nor  even  General  Walker, 
half  as  much  as  they  were  insulted.  The  only  injustice  done  that 
individual  was,  that  he  was  not  hung  before  he  started  on  his  first 
expedition.  Up  to  the  time  of  which  I  am  now  writing,  the  order 
of  the  K.  G.  C.  was  a  rather  insignificant  one  in  point  of  numbers. 
There  were,  in  fact,  very  few  persons,  not  members  of  the  institu- 
tion, who  even  knew  of  its  existence.  But  among  their  small  num- 
ber were  many  of  the  wealthiest  capitalists  of  the  South,  such  as 
Yancey  and  Toombs;  and  they  were  fully  confident  that  the  time 
was  rapidly  coming  when  they  would  literally  swallow  up  the  whole 
of  their  section  of  country. 


KNIGHTS   OF    THE    GOLDEN   CIRCLE,  11 


CHAPTER  III. 

*r*.j  YEAR  1858 — ^Thb  Kansas  Struggle  and  the  Lecompton  Con- 
-triTUTioN — Increased  growth  of  the  K.  G.  C. — Change  of 
Ritual — Secession  advocated,  and  the  South  united  through 
ITS  workings — the  Order  popularized — the  Regalia,  Symbols, 
AKD  Workings  of  the  Degrees  and  "Inner  Temple" — Applica- 
vton  for  a  Castle  in  a  Northern  city  refused — Firing  of  thb 
Southern  Heart  in  1859-60 — Presidential  Contest  of  1860 — 
Instrumentality  of  the  K.  G.  C.  in  dissolving  the  Democratic 
(invention — Opposition  to  Douglas — Speech  in  a  New  Orleans 
(  astle — the    Charleston   and   Baltimore   Conventions — thb 

■  iSINCERlTY  of  SoUTHRONS. 

The  year  1858  found  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  more 
1  ghly  organized,  and  gaining  wonderfully  in  popularity.  The 
fivision  being  effected  in  the  Democratic  party  by  the  discussion 
>f  the  celebrated  Lecompton  Constitution,  gave  them  great  hope 
of  attaining  the  end  to  which  they  had  been  directing  their  efiForts. 
with  undiminished  zeal,  for  the  past  two  years,  and  which  their 
organization  had  been  calculated  to  effect  from  its  very  infancy 
— the  dissolution  of  the  American  Union.  They  had  applied 
the  most  thorough  tests  to  the  general  government,  and  had  done 
all  in  their  power  to  ascertain  whether  it  were  possible  to  entirely 
Southernize  the  great  national  Democratic  party,  and  transform  it 
into  a  pro-slavery  engine  with  which  they  might  extend  and  protect 
Blavery  everywhere,  to  little  effect.  They  had  proven  Mr.  Buchanan 
to  be  a  very  indifferent  friend  to  fillibustering  movements ;  and, 
last  of  all,  they  had  found  that  there  were  thousands  of  Democrats 
who  would  not  agree  that  the  people  of  a  territory  should  have  a 
constitution  which  they  were  utterly  opposed  to,  nor  admit  that 
forty  Northern  men  were  equal  to  but  one  Southern  man.  All 
these  circumstances  proved  to  them  that  secession  was  their  only 
hope.  The  formation  of  a  Southern  Government  was  now  talked 
of  openly  everywhere ;  every  means  was  used  to  make  secessionists, 
and  unite  the  Southern  people.  To  this  end  it  was  thought  the 
order  of  the  K.  G.  C.  should  be  popularized  by  various  improvements. 
The  castle  was  divided  into  an  outer  and  inner  temple;  the  outer 
temple  being,  in  fact,  the  old  castle  to  which,  according  to  some 
changes  made  in  the  ritual  and  constitution,  members  were  admitted 
on  probation,  preparatory  to  entering  the  inner  temple.  The  time 
of  probation  was  not  definitely  fixed,  but  was,  in  all  cases,  to  be 
of  sufficient  duration  to  enable  the  committee  of  inquiry  to  determine 


12  EXPOSITION  OP  TBB 

■whether  the  initiate  was  "sound  on  the  nigger."  None  but  those 
who  were  known  to  be  out-and-out  secessionists  could  enter  the 
"  holy  of  holies." 

About  this  time  it  was  thought  well  to  do  something  in  the  way 
of  regalia,  emblems,  etc.,  in  which  no  effort  was  spared  to  be  "  vtry 
ancienV  As  I  never  had  the  good  fortune  to  enter  the  inner  temple, 
I  can  only  doscriljo  the  outer.  In  this  department  the  regalia 
consists  of  a  close  helmet  for  the  head,  from  the  top  of  which  peers 
upward  a  small  silver  spear,  and  to  tlie  frontal  portion  of  which  is 
.'ittached  a  silver  crescent ;  of  a  close-fitting  garment  for  the  thorax 
and  upper  extremities,  very  much  resembling  the  ancient  coat  of 
mail,  and  a  long,  straight  sword  suspended  to  the  left  side.  The 
symbols  wore  a  lar^e  bronzed  crescent,  or  new  moon,  set  with 
lifteen  stars,  a  large  one  of  which  was  generally  suspended  over 
the  seat  of  the  Chief  IChlght.  from  an  arch  of  evergreens;  of  a  large 
temple,  under  the  dome  of  which  shone  a  beautiful  representation 
of  the  noon-day  sun,  and  around  the  corona  of  which  were  fixed 
lifteen  stars.  To  these  Avere  added  the  skull  and  cross-bones. 
Now  for  the  language  of  the  symbols:  The  crescent  represents  the 
growing  Southern  ConH^deracy ;  the  temple,  v/ith  its  glowing  sun 
and  fifteen  stars,  foreshadows  the  glorious  "sunny  South,"  under 
the  benign  inliuence  of  a  fully  matured  Southern  Government, 
extending  its  borders  through  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  Central  and  South 
America;  the  skull  and  cross-bones  signify  death  to  all  "Abolition- 
ists" and  opposers  of  "Southern  independence."  To  the  by-laws 
were  added  one  strongly  prohibiting  any  member  from  presenting 
the  name  of  any  new  applicant  unless  he  had  the  best  of  reasons 
for  believing  that  such  applicant  was  a  good  Southern  man,  and 
perfectly  "  sound  on  the  nigger." 

The  sole  end  to  which  the  Knights  now  directed  their  c2brt« 
was  the  disruption  of  the  American  Confederacy.  Like  Garrison 
and  his  followers,  they  considered  this  an  "  accursed  Union,"  and 
that  its  longer  continuance  was  only  calculated  to  degrade  and 
oppress  the  South.  In  view  of  this  object,  they  determined  to  aban- 
don the  kidnapping  business,  inasmuch  as  it  involved  consid- 
erable expense,  and  required  close  attention,  and  concentrate  aJI 
their  energies  upon  the  institution  of  new  castles  throughout  all 
the  Southern  States.  Forthwith  castles  began  to  spring  up  all 
through  the  Border  States,  and,  in  not  a  few  instances,  was  it  found 
that  prominent  Northern  men  were  knocking  at  the  door  for  ad- 
mission. Whenever  they  were  known  to  be  "  good  Southern  men" 
they  were  welcomed  and  hailed  with  joy.  At  one  time  during  the 
year  of  which  I  now  w^rite,  (1858),  some  very  prominent  citizens 
of  New  Albany,  Indiana,  proposed  to  have  a  castle  instituted  in 
their  city,  but  the  Knights  thought  that  as  their  order  was  "pe- 
culiarly a  Southern  one,"  it  were  better  that  it  should  not  extend 
into  free  soil  During  this  period,  castles  were  built  up  in  Texas, 
and  they  showed  themselves  worthy  of  their  calling,  and,  if  any- 


KNIGHTS  OF   THS   GOLDBN    CIP.CLK. 


13 


BXP061TI0S    OF    THa 


^^^}1j1^U 


14 


KNIGHTS    OF    THE   GOLDEN    CHICLE.  l.") 

thin^r,  rather  distanced  those  of  the  Gulf  States  in  the  promotion 
of  the  "  p-ood  cause." 

With  the  Texan  Knights,  however,  tliere  wa.-?  one  irreat  obstacle 
in  the  way  ofprotiiress,  viz. :  the  larire  free-hiborina;  Crerman  popu- 
lation. The  Germans  in  Texas  had  domonstratr^d  to  the  world  that 
they  could  even  excel  the  "  ni2:,a;er"  in  the  cultivation  of  the  cotton 
plant.  Th.is  was  considered  as  a  very  dangerosia  argument  against 
the  "peculiar  institution." 

The  groat  plea  in  favor  of  Slavery  in  the  South  had  over  been 
that  "cotton  couM  not  be  crown  without  African  service,"  and 
that  the  Avhole  intolliiiont  world  should  see  a  -practical  demonstra- 
tion of  its  fallacy  was  something  that  the  "chivalry"  never  could 
submit  to. 

The  Germans  had  become  thoroughly  acclimated,  and  being 
very  healthy  and  prolific,  bid  Hiir  to  seriously  undermine,  and  ul- 
timately destroy,  the  slave  interests  of  Texas.  Fully  conscious  of 
these  f\icts,  tiie  members  of  the  K.  (i  C.  began  and  carried  out 
such  a  system  of  abuse  and  oppression  towards  this  valuable  class 
of  citizens,  as  finaliy  resulted  in  the  exodus  of  the  entire  German 
population  ("Jo. 00!))  from  Texas  to  Mexico,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
spring  of  the  presciit  year,  (18GI.) 

All  through  the  year  1859,  the  Knights  wore  working  with  un- 
abated energy  for  the  increase  of  their  nunil^ors  and  the  "firing 
of  the  Southern  heart."  1860  found  them  making  grcal  prepara- 
tions for  the  presidential  campaign  of  that  year. 

It  had  been  strongly  indicated  by  the  Democrats  of  the  great 
Xorthwest,  at  their  recent  state  elections,  that  a  less  conservative 
man  than  Douglas  would  receive  very  few  of  their  votes  for  the 
U.  S.  Presidency  in  tiie  coming  contest;  and.  from  the  strong  op- 
position to  him  by  Scmthern  fire-eaters  and  Northern  dongh-faces 
m  the  national  Congress  of  that  year,  it  was  clear  that  a  division, 
and  consequent  defeat,  of  the  Democratic  ticket  could  be  easily 
effected,  and  an  f  xcase,  by  that  means,  afforded  for  the  consumma- 
tion of  their  great  loading  design. 

Perhaps  :■.<>  politician  ever  had  a  firmer  hold  upon  the  sympa- 
thies of  his  a(lli(M-ents  than  Mr.  Douglas.  Of  this  fact  the  Knights 
were  fully  awa'-e;  and,  knowing  that  many  of  t!ie  prominent  lead- 
ers of  the  N(trt!iern  Democracy  were  jealous  of  the  '  IJttle  Giant," 
it  was  duly  arrait^ed  to  secure  their  services  both  in  Congress  and 
in  the  contem|»luted  April  convention,  to  the  end  of  so  dividing 
that  body  th;tt  a  siifficient  number  might  be  drawn  off  to  form 
another  convention  and  nominate  another  candidate. 

Months  before  the  meeting  of  the  National  Democratic  Conven- 
tion, men  of  tlio  Yancey  stripe  had  literally  sworn,  ia  castle,  to 
aplit  that  Convention,  and  thereby  utterly  defeat  its  objects,  or 
else  entirely  Sonthernize  it.  The  following,  from  a  speech  deliv- 
ered in  the  New  (.'rleans  Castle,  will  show  the  spirit  and  intent  of 


JO  EXPOSITION    OF    TFiK 

the  ultraists  of  that  period.     The  speecii  was  made  at  a  meeting 
held,  January  11th,  1860: 

"The  next  administration  shall  bo  purely  Southern,  or  we  will 
have  no  admini-^tration  at  all.  We  will  have  a  strictly  Southern 
Uights  Confrress.  If  we  can't  have  such  a  con;rres8  at  Washincton, 
we  will  have  it  someicherc  else.  Our  rights  of  property  should  be 
s-i^cured,  not  only  here  and  in  the  common  territories,  but  all  over 
the  United  States.  Why  can't  we  travel  where  we  please  with 
our  negroes,  and  stay  as  long  as  we  liko,  without  molostation  ? 
The  powers  at  the  National  Capital,  under  the  influence  of  the 
abolition  puritans,  will  never,  in  my  opinion,  grant  the  just  privi- 
leges claimed  hy  Southern  gentlemen.  Tho  Democratic  party 
North  is  fast  selling  itself  out  to  the  Abolitionists,  and,  from  pres 
cnt  appearances,  we  may  expect  that  before  another  campaign 
Steve  Douglas  and  Fred  Douglass  will  be  spoken  of  as  the  candi- 
dates for  the  Presidency  and  Vice  Presidency,  to  be  nominated  at  a 
fusion  convention,  composed  of  IJlack  Republicans  and  Squatter 
Sovereignty  Democrats. 

'•I  am,  for  one,  for  an  eternal  separation  from  this  yelloio- 
sldnnedy  icoolbj-hcadcd  clique.  1  am  for  an  out-and-out  Southern 
man  in  '60.  We  don't  expect  Northern  men  to  vote  for  him. 
We  don't  want  them  to.  We  only  want  a  man  that  a  Southern 
gentleman  can  vote  for  with  clean  hands  and  a  clear  conscience. 
1  would  say,  give  us  Yancey  or  .TetF  Dasis.  We  can  vote  for  such 
men  as  these  conscientiously.  We  do  n't  expect  to  elect  them ;  we 
don't  want  to  elect  them  according  to  the  modes  prescribed  by 
the  United  States  Constitution.  We  only  want  to  siiov.'  the  North 
our  hand  and  our  strength.  Let  them  elect  their  Abolition  can- 
didate. Is  there  one  here  who  does  not  hope  they  will?  For  my 
part,  it  has  been  my  desire,  for  over  ten  years,  that  the  North 
would  give  us  some  good  excuse  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
We,  as  an  Order,  have  been  hoping  and  working  for  a  long  time 
for  a  separation  from  the  North,  and  the  formation  of  a  govern- 
ment of  our  own,  where  we  could,  without  any  hindrance  or 
drawback,  carry  out  a  purely  Southern  policy.  At  the  coming 
Democratic  convention  we  must  have  this  Order  well  represented; 
we  must  have  men  there  who  will  carry  out  our  wishes;  we  must 
show  the  mulatto  Democrats  (Douglas  men)  that  we  will  have  a 
man  of  our  own  selection.  He  most  be  a  Knight,  and  a  good  one 
at  that.  There  is  little  doubt,  from  the  present  bull-headedness 
of  the  DouglasitC'S,  that  this  policy  will  result  in  the  division  of 
the  convention,  and  the  nomination  of  two  candidates;  but  that 
is  just  what  we  want.  It  will  only  assist  the  election  of  the 
Alx>lition  candidate,  which,  as  I  have  before  said,  is  the  upper- 
most desire  of  our  hearts,  in  that  it  will  afford  a  lawful  excuse 
for  dissolving  a  Union  which  has,  for  tlie  past  thirty  years,  been 
the  most  formidable  obstacle  to  Southern  progress.'^ 


KNIGHTS  OF   THE  GOLDEX  CIRCLE.  17 

The  way  in  which  the  Knights  proposed  to  divide  the  con- 
vention Tfas,  to  require  at  the  hands  of  the  conservative  Northern 
Democracy  the  most  unqualified  recognition  of  the  rights  of 
property  in  slaves,  and  its  especial  Congressional  protection  in 
all  the  United  States  Territories.  From  the  popular  expressions 
of  the  Northwestern  people  at  the  ballot  box,  at  their  recent 
elections,  they  knew  full  well  their  desire  of  disruption  would  be 
successfully  attained  by  this  requirement. 

In  April,  1S60,  the  National  Democratic  Convention  assembled 
at  Charleston,  and  it  seemed  to  be  the  universal  desire  of  the 
conservative  men  to  harmonize  that  body  by  making  every  per- 
sonal concession  consistent  with  what  they  had  honestly  believed 
to  be  a  fair  interpretation  of  the  Cincinnati  Platform.  They  pro- 
posed to  lay  aside  all  the  differences  of  the  past,  say  nothing 
about  recent  quarrels,  and  simply  adopt  the  old  Cincinnati  Plat- 
form, with  the  mere  addition  that  the  slavery  question  in  the 
territories  should  be  settled  by  the  Supreme  Court,  presuming, 
as  they  did,  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  inter- 
preted by  the  highest  of  all  judicial  authorities,  was  a  sufficient 
guarantee  to  the  rights  of  property  everywhere.  If  there  had 
been  any  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Knights  (as  nearly  all  the 
Breckinridge  men  were,)  to  forget  old  differences  and  reunite  the 
party,  they  would  have  readily  agreed  to  this  proposition.  But  no 
Buch  desire  existed  among  them.  Nothing  but  a  full  and  explicit 
acknowledgment  that  "neither  Congress  nor  a  Territorial  Legis- 
lature" could  impair  the  rights  of  property  in  slaves,  and  that  it 
was  "  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  all  its  departments, 
to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  and  property  in  the  territories, 
and  wherever  che  its  authorUy  extends^''  would  begin  to  satisfy 
diem.  Whenever  a  Southern  man  says  "property,"  he  means 
^'■niggers;'  so  that  what  the  Knights  really  desired  of  the  Douglas 
men  was,  that  they  should  admit  that  no  power  on  earth  could,  in 
any  way,  interfere  with  ^^niggersy  This  admission  they  knew, 
as  well  before  as  after  the  Convention,  would  not  be  made.  Every 
man  at  all  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  past  five  years,  knows 
that  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected  upon  the  principle  of  non-inter- 
vention ;  and  to  presume  that  the  conservative  men  of  the  North-^ 
west  could  indorse  Congressional  Intervention  to  the  ridiculous 
and  inconsistent  extreme  required  by  the  Southern  "nigger"  wor- 
shipers in  the  Charleston  Convention,  was  something  that  none 
but  fools  could  do. 

As  my  readers  are  all  aware,  the  result  of  the  unreasonable- 
demands  made  upon  the  conservatives  was  the  division  of  the  Con- 
vention, or,  more  properly  speaking,  the  secession  of  the  Knights, 
and  the  formation  of  another  convention.  Both  these  conventions^ 
adjourned  before  arriving  at  any  definite  conclusion  respecting. 
the  selection  of  a  candidate,  to  meet  again  at  Baltimore,  in  the 
month  of  June.  On  the  part  of  the  K  G.  C.  there  was  not  the? 
2 


18  EXPOSITION   OF  THE 

least  intention  of  trying  to  conciliate  matters  at  the  subsequent 
meetinj^  by  the  compromise  of  any  of  their  principles ;  nor  did 
they  anticipate  any  concession  on  the  part  of  the  conservatives. 
They  only  desired  to  widen  the  breach,  and  all  their  pretensions 
to  the  contrary  were  the  merest  sham. 

In  the  interim  between  the  two  meetings  the  Knights  were 
busily  engaged  in  castle,  devising  means  whereby  they  might  hold 
the  organization  at  Baltimore,  and  thereby  force  the  Douglas  men 
to  secede.  By  this  ruse  it  was  hoped  to  preserve  for  their  faction 
the  name  of  "The  Regular  Democratic  Convention,"  and  thus 
more  thoroughly  divide  the  party:  and  it  was  duly  arranged  that 
if  they  could  not  succeed  in  this  plan,  they  would  cause  the 
-speaker  (Mr.  Gushing)  to  "secec/c,"  and  by  that  means  carry  all 
the  weight  they  possibly  could  with  them. 

June  arrived,  and,  at  the  assembling  of  the  convention,  the 
Knights  found  themselves  clearly  beaten,  as  it  regarded  their  first 
plan,  by  the  superior  activity  of  the  conservatives.  They  even 
came  very  near  being  denied  a  seat  in  the  assembly.  They  were, 
consequently,  forced  to  their  last  plan  as  the  only  alternative. 

Respecting  the  movements  of  the  two  Raltimore  conventions, 
the  reader  is  doubtless  informed,  but  it  may  not  be  out  of  the  way 
here  to  present  the  expressions  of  these  two  bodies  on  the  slavery 
question,  as  found  in  their  respective  platforms.  Here  is  what 
the  Douglas  convention  said : 

"That  inasmuch  as  differences  of  opinion  exist  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  a  territorial  legislature, 
and  as  to  the  powers  and  duties  of  Congress,  under  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  over  the  institution  of  slavery  within 
the  territories,  Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  will  abide  by 
the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  over  the 
institution  of  slavery  in  t*he  territories. 

"  Resolved^  That  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  interpretation  of 
-the  Cincinnati  Platform  that,  during  the  existence  of  the  territo- 
rial government,  the  measure  of  restriction,  whatever  it  may  be, 
imposed  by  the  Federal  Constitution  on  the  power  of  the  terri- 
torial legislature  over  the  subject  of  the  domestic  relations  (as 
the  same  has  been  or  shall  hereafter  be  finally  determined  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States)  should  be  respected  by  all 
good  citizens,  and  enforced  with  promptness  and  fidelity  by  every 
branch  of  the  General  Government." 

And  here  is  the  Breckinridge  platform  on  slavery : 

"  The  government  of  a  territory,  as  organized  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, is  provisional  and  temporary,  and,  during  its  existence,  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  have  an  equal  right  to  settle  with 
thoir  property  {^^ niggers")  in  the  territory,  without  their  rights 


KNIGHTS   OF  THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  19 

either  of  person  or  property  being  destroyed  or  injured  by  con- 
gressional or  territorial  legislation. 

"It  is  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  all  its  depart- 
ments, to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  or  property  {^^  niggers'") 
in  the  territories,  and  wherever  else  its  constitutional  authority 
extends. 

"  When  the  settlers  in  a  territory,  having  an  adequate  popula- 
tion, form  a  state  constitution,  the  right  of  sovereignty  commences, 
and  being  consummated  by  their  admission  into  the  Union,  they 
stand  on  an  equality  with  the  people  of  other  states ;  and  a  state 
thus  organized  ought  to  be  admitted  into  the  Federal  Union, 
whether  the  constitution  prohibits  or  recognizes  the  institution  of 
slavery." 

"With  the  exception  of  the  last  resolution  appended  to  the 
Douglas  platform,  these  platforms  were  both  framed  in  Charles- 
ton;  and  I  will  remark  just  here  that,  as  it  respects  the  Breck- 
inridge platform,  it  had  been  drawn  up  in  the  Calhoun  castle,  at 
Charleston,  more  than  a  month  before  the  first  meeting  of  the 
convention. 

In  contrasting  the  above  quotations,  it  requires  no  very  great 
degree  of  perspicuity  to  determine  which  is  the  more  conciliatory 
of  the  two;  nor  docs  it  require  a  very  high  development  of  the 
perceptives  to  see  that  the  boasted  "national"  doctrine  of  non- 
intervention, of  which  we  all  heard  so  much  in  1856,  had  been 
entirely  abandoned  by  the  secessionists  as  a  political  humbug, 
and  that  they  had  fallen  back  on  the  old  idea,  always  maintained 
by  the  Ilepublicans,  that  Congress  had  a  right  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  territories;  and  that  it  was  its 
duty  to  do  it.  The  only  difTerencc  between  the  Republicans  and 
Dreckinridge  men,  on  this  point,  being  that  the  former  believed 
Congress  should  prohibit  tlie  introduction  of  slavery  into  the  ter- 
ritories, while  the  latter  taught  that  Congress  should  protect  it 
to  the  full  extent  of  its  powers.  Does  it  not  seem  remarkably 
strange  that,  with  these  facts  before  the  intelligent  world,  the 
Knights  should  denominate  the  Kepublican  party  a  sectional  one, 
and  base  their  excuse  for  secession  upon  its  recent  success  in 
consequence?  In  this  connection  I  will  quote  from  the  Repub- 
lican platform,  framed  at  Chicago,  May,  1860.  The  following  is 
the  eighth  resolution  of  that  document: 

"  That  the  normal  condition  of  all  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  is  that  of  freedom;  that  as  our  republican  fathers,  when 
they  abolished  slavery  in  all  our  national  territory,  ordained  that 
no  person  should  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 
the  process  of  law,  it  becomes  our  duty  by  legislation,  whenever 
Buch  legislation  is  necessary,  to  maintain  this  provision  of  the 
Constitution  against  all  attempts  to  violate  it;  and  we  defy  the 


20  EXPOSITION  OF  THE 

authority  of  Congress,  of  a  territorial  legislature,  or  of  any  indi- 
viduals, to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the 
United  States." . 

This  resolution  may  be  said  to  embody  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  Kepublicans  respecting  the  relations  subsisting  be- 
tween the  General  Government  and  the  United  States  territories, 
and  it  will  be  observed  that  they  are,  in  spirit,  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Breckinridge  Democrats,  but  very  differently  applied  and 
directed. 

Now,  respecting  the  Republican  idea  of  the  power  of  Congress 
to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories,  it  had  the  decided  advantage 
of  legislative  precedent  from  the  earliest  periods  of  our  national 
history  to  within  a  few  years  past,  and,  therefore,  if  we  are  to  decide 
in  favor  of  intervention  at  all,  we  must  go  with  the  Republicans. 

The  principle  of  non-intervention  was  certainly  Democratic ;  the 
greatest  objection  to  it,  perhaps,  was  that  it  was  too  Democratic  to 
be  applied  to  this  age  and  this  Government. 

One  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  destruction  of  the  Grecian 
Republic  was,  that  its  Democracy  was  in  advance  of  the  intelligence 
of  its  people ;  and  it  may  be  that,  of  late  years,  some  of  our  American 
statesmen  have,  in  their  ambitious  desire  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  world  and  leave  their  mark  upon  the  times,  which,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  is  commendable,  endeavored  to  lead  this  nation 
beyond  the  capacity  of  its  sovereijfns. 


KNIGHTS  OP  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  21 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Contest  of  1860 — the  Breckinridge  movement,  and   the 

insincerity  of  its  opposition  to  lincoln the  k.  g.  c.  at  the 

xorth   and   the   south ^misrepresentations   by   xortheen 

Knights — Some  of  their  Boasting  Letters — Aid  expected  from 
THE  North  in  case  of  Secession — New  Emblem  of  the  Order 
— Plans  to  steal  Arms  and  Money  from  the  U.  S.  matured  in 
Castle  in  1S50 — Lincoln  and  Hamlin  scarecrow  at  the  South 
— Stories  of  the  Campaign,  and  their  almost  general  belief 
— Treatment  of  Northerners  at  the  South. 

The  tAvo  Baltimore  CGnventiona  having  finished  their  Tvork, 
udjourned,  and  went  forth  organizing  state  tickets,  and  presenting 
the  chiims  of  their  respective  candidates  to  the  people  of  the  country. 
Now,  be  it  remembered,  there  were  many  warm  supporters  of  Mr. 
Buchanan's  administration,  and  political  enemies  of  Senator  Douglas, 
who,  seeing  the  disorganized  condition  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  the  certain  prospect  of  defeat  in  consequence,  were  willing  to 
make  almost  any  personal  sacrifice  in  order  to  bring  about  a  better 
state  of  affairs.  These  proposed  to  allow  Breckinridge  to  take  the 
South  and  Douglas  the  ^s'orth,  in  the  hope  that  thereby  the  election 
of  Lincoln  would  be  prevented,  and  the  choice  thrown  into  Congress. 
These  men  were  honest  in  their  intentions,  whatever  we  may  say 
of  their  political  views.  They  labored  earnestly  to  prevent  the 
orfanization  of  a  Breckinridge  ticket  in  any  Northern  State;  but 
tliey  were  not  members  of  the  K.  G.  C,  and,  consequently,  unac- 
qu.iinted  with  the  real  intent  and  meaning  of  the  Breckinridge 
movement.  Their  reasoning,  their  efforts,  their  appeals,  were  not 
heeded,  and  almost  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  there  was  a  Secession 
ticket  (that  is  the  proper  name)  in  nearly  every  state  north  of  the 

Ohio  River,  with  such  men  as  the  Hon.  J.  D.  B and  D.  S.  D 

to  stump  for  it,  and  such  papers  as  the  New  York  Day  Book  to  talk 
fo/  it.  There  were  many  men  in  the  North  who  were  not  bona-fide 
members  of  the  K.  G.  C,  who  still  advocated  the  claim  of  the 
Secession  ticket  almost  purely  out  of  the  hatred  and  envy  they 
bore  Mr.  Douglas;  others  again  were  duped  and  lured  into  it.     A 

certain  Mr.  1] ,  of  Indiana,  a  Mr.  V ,  of  Ohio,  the  editor 

of  the  Day  Book,  and  a  Mr.  C ,  of  Massachusetts,  were  said  to 

be  about  the  only  reliable  members  the  Order  claimed  among  the 
prominent  Northern  politicians.  Of  course  there  were  several  of  the 
"  small  fry  "  in  many  places.  It  was  frequently  wondered  why  any 
set  of  men  could  be  so  foolish  as  to  advocate  the  Breckinridge  ticket 
in  the  North,  and  often  the  questions  were  asked,  "  Why  do  you 


22  EXPOSITION   OP   THE 

do  it?" — "What -will  you  make  by  it?"  The  reply  generally  -vfa^ 
"  We  hope  to  make  nothing;  we  act  from  principle."  With  some, 
these  answers  were,  doubtless,  honest,  inasmuch  as  they  were  igno- 
rant of  the  operations  and  intentions  of  the  Knights  in  the  South,  who 
were,  as  I  have  just  shown,  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  movement. 

As  has  already  been  seen,  the  members  of  the  K.  G.  C.  hoped,  by 
the  organization  of  the  Secession  ticket  in  the  North,  to  more 
effectually  divide  the  Democratic  party.  But  there  was  with  th^m 
another  and  far  greater  object  to  be  attained  by  it,  viz.:  the 
ascertainment  of  the  precise  number  of  Northern  men  with  decided 
Southern  principles.  This  was  a  desideratum  of  no  little  importance, 
since  it  was  honestly  believed  and  fully  expected  that,  in  the  pondin;; 
revolution  of  1861,  every  man  in  the  North  who  had  voted  for 
Breckinridge  might  be  set  down  on  the  lists  as  a  soldier  for  the 
Southern  army.  All  over  the  North  agents  were  employed  to  attend 
the  elections,  ascertain  the  exact  number  of  Breckinridge  voters, 
and  forward  the  same  to  any  regularly  organized  castle  in  the 
South.  This  latter  movement  was  somewhat  interrupted  in  New 
York  and  some  other  Eastern  states  by  the  Union  coalition  entered 
into  by  all  the  parties  opposed  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  But, 
notwithstanding  this,  a  pretty  accurate  calculation  was  made  of 
the  probable  sympathetic  aid  that  might  be  expected  from  every 
state  north  of  5lason  and  Dixon's  line.  About  two  months  before 
the  presidential  election,  there  was  an  extensive  correspondence 
going  on  between  Northern  and  Southern  Knights,  in  which  the 
former  were  representing  the  secession  strength  of  their  section 
as  being  very  great.  In  this  connection  I  have  thought  fit  to  present, 
in  substance,  a  few  letters  which  1  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
seeing.  If  I  had  been  safe  in  so  doing,  I  would  have  copied 
them  verbatim. 

Here  is  one  written  from  Madison,  Indiana : 

Madison,  Sept.  — ,  1860. 
Corresponding  Sec,  Jefferson  Casti-r,  No.  2.3,  K.  G.  C. 

Dear  Sir  : — You  may  tell  the  friends  of  Southern  Rights  that  our  district 
can  turn  out  at  least  one  thousand  men  who  will  fight  Northern  aggression 
to  the  death.     Be  of  good  cheer,  and  work  faithfully. 

Yours  for  the  right,  T. 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  an  epistle  written  from 
Evansville,  Indiana: 

EvANsriLLE,  Sept.  — ,  180O. 
Corresponding  Se'c.  Jefferson  Castle,  K.  G.  C. 

Dear  Sir: — Tell  the  friends  that  our  county,  alone,  will  be  found  good 
for  one  regiment  of  brave  men,  who  will  shed  their  last  drop  of  blood 
before  they  will  submit  to  Abolition  rule.  Put  us  down  as  A,  number 
one.  Very  respectfully  yours,  etc.,  B. 

Washington,  Indiana,  is  heard  from  in  the  following  manner: 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   GOLDEN   CIECLR  23 

"Washington,  Ind.,  Sept.  — ,  1860. 
CoRRESPOVDiKG  Sec.  Jeff.  Castlk,  K.  G.  C. 

Dear  Sir : — Having  been  generally  over  the  Hoosier  State,  I  think  I 
can  tell  pretty  accurately  how  she  stands.  There  are  thirty  thousand 
voters  in  this  State  who  will  never  compromise  with  Black  Republican- 
ism, and  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  there  are  at  least  ten  thousand 
who  will  shoulder  their  muskets  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  their  Southern 
brethren.  Your  ob't  servant,  M. 

The  letter  below  is  from  the  little  town  of  Carlisle,  Indiana: 

Carlisle,  Sept.  — ,  18G9. 
CoRRESPOXDixa  Sf.c.  Jeffersox  Castle,  K.  G.  C. 

Dear  Sir: — I  have  taken  the  pains  to  count  noses  in  this  district, 
especially  in  this  county,  and  I  can  set  you  down,  at  the  least  calcula- 
tion, two  thousand  fighting  men,  who  will,  at  a  moment's  warning,  in 
case  of  need,  march  to  the  standard  of  Southern  Rights,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  whole  of  Indiana  south  of  theXational  Road  will 
secede  and  unite  its  fortune  with  the  South  when  Lincoln  is  elected. 

Ever  yours,  etc.,  W. 

The  foregoing  letters  I  saw  and  read  among  the  filed  papers 
of  Jefferson  Castle,  Kentucky,  and  these  were  from  Indiana  alone. 
From  what  I  could  gather  from  prominent  members  of  the  Order, 
I  think  I  may  safely  estimate  the  promised  sympathetic  aid  of  the 
several  Northwestern  States  as  follows:  Indiana,  at  least  10.000; 
Ohio,  about  5,000;  Illinois,  5,000;  Pennsvlvania,  at  least  15.000; 
New  York,  about  50,000;  Iowa,  5,000;  Michigan,  5,000.  Total, 
95,000.  Beside  the  assistance  expected  from  tlie  above  mentioned 
States,  they  looked  for  a  good  deal  from  others,  both  in  the  way 
of  men  and  money.  At  no  time  previous  to  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter  was  it  presumed  that  the  number  of  men  to  be 
counted  on  from  the  North  would  fall  below  100,000,  and  with 
tliese,  and  the  assistance  of  Northern  capitalists.  Northern  engi- 
neers, manufacturers,  etc.,  together  with  the  heavy  drafts  to  be 
made  on  the  U.  S.  Treasury  and  the  U.  S.  Arsenals,  it  was  confi- 
dently apprehended  as  nothing  more  than  a  breakfast  spell  to 
^^ clean  out  the  Abolitionists,"  capture  the  Capital  at  Washington, 
and  kick  Uncle  Sam  into  nonenity. 

About  this  time  a  new  emblem  was  added  to  the  Order.  It  was 
a  simple  triangular  white  card,  somewhat  resembling  the  Knights' 
spear,  in  the  three  corners  of  which  were  written  the  figures  7,  3, 
and  5.  In  the  center  of  this  card  was  printed  the  capital  letter 
K,  and  immediately  below  this  was  written  the  number  61.  Let 
the  reader  presume  this  card  to  be  placed  before  him  with  the 
long,  acute  angle  upward,  as  the  upper  part  of  a  spear  in  situ  ; 
let  him  imagine  the  figure  7  in  the  left  hand  corner,  the  fignre  3  in 
the  upper  corner,  and  the  figure  5  in  the  right  hand  corner.  Now 
he  should  place  the  capital  letter  K  in  the  center  of  the  cUrd,  and 


24  EXPOSITION   OF  THE 

61  immediately  under  it,  and  read  as  follows,  beginning  with  the 
capital  R,  and  running  round  the  several  angles  of  the  card,  from 
left  to  right:  R— Revolution.  7-3-5=15,  ot  fifteen  states  in  '61, 
(1861,)  or  Revolution  of  fifteen  states  in  sixty-one.  These  cards 
were  thrown  about  the  streets  and  corners  of  many  of  the  Northern 
border  cities  nearly  two  months  before  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 
I  have  already  intimated  that  secret  arrangements  had  been  made 
to  secure  a  considerable  portion  of  Uncle  Sara's  money  at  this 
period.  This  is  true.  Floyd  and  Cobb  had  taken  all  the  neces- 
sary preliminary  steps  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object  nearly 
two  years  previous  to  the  time  of  which  1  am  now  writing.  Plans 
for  securing  the  arms  of  U.  S.  Arsenals,  and  possessing  all  the 
Southern  fortresses,  had  been  thoroughly  matured  about  one  year 
previous,  historical  evidence  of  which  is  presented  in  succeeding 
pages  of  this  work.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  by  far  the 
larger  portion  of  the  regular  army  had  been  distributed  among 
various  outposts  in  Texas  and  Utah,  where  it  was  quite  out  of 
reach.  The  Navy  had  been,  with  the  exception  of  an  insignificant 
home  squadron,  sent  to  the  most  distant  foreign  points  by  that 
poor,  pitiful,  nigger  irnckling  yankee,  Isaac  Touccy,  in  order  that 
it  might  not  be  readily  recalled.  Further,  it  was  arranged  to  send 
nearl}'-  every  navy  officer  of  known  loyalty  abroad,  while  a  large 
majority  of  those  to  be  selected  for  the  home  squadron  were 
Knights  of  the  genuine  stamp.  To  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri,  where  it  was 
known  that  the  K.  G.  C.  were  vastly  in  the  minority,  no  arras 
were  to  be  distributed,  or  at  least  as  few  as  possible,  whereas  in 
the  Cotton  States,  where  the  Order  was  pretty  strong,  and  where  its 
members  generally  managed,  by  hook  or  crook,  to  be  at  the  head 
of  all  public  affairs,  large  numbers  were  sent.  In  order  to  more 
thoroughly  prepare  the  people  of  the  Gulf  States  for  the  antici- 
pated revolution,  it  was  resolved  upon  to  use  every  means  to  make 
them  believe  that  if  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected,  the  almost  immediate 
abolition  of  slavery  in  all  the  Slave  States  would  follow;  and  that 
he  (Lincoln)  was,  in  point  of  civilization,  but  a  few  removes  from 
a  Fejee  Islander.  The  newspapers  under  the  control  of  the  Knights 
were  constantly  employed  in  giving  the  most  distorted  and  unjust 
delineations  of  the  characters  of  the  Republican  nominees.  North- 
ern editors  who  wrote  disparagingly  or  abusively  of  Lincoln  and 
the  Republican  party  were  largely  quoted  from,  and  in  small 
country  sheets  which  rarely  ever  reached  a  Northern  or  border 
town,  such  quotations  were  miserably  garbled,  and  presented  to 
the  people  vastly  more  unjust  than  they  were  originally.  In 
many  of  the  Gulf  States  the  common  people  were  fully  of  the 
opinion  that  Mr.  Hamlin  was  a  mulatto,  from  the  newspaper  de- 
iScriptions  they  had  read  of  him.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  generally  be- 
lieved to  be  a  totally  illiterate  numskull,  as  barbarous  toward 
•the  Southern  slaveholders  as  a  Hottentot,  and  as  dear  a  lover  of 


KNIGHTS   OF  THE   G0LDE3I  CIRCLR  25 

'niggers"  as  a  German  is  of  lager  beer.     It  was  even  currently 
reported,  at  one  time,  that  his  wife  was  a  quadroon. 

Meantime,  such  a  course  was  to  be  pursued  toward  Northern 
men  caught  in  the  South,  of  the  slightest  Republican  tendency, 
as  would  stir  up  the  indignation  of  the  Northern  people.  Men 
were  to  be  tarred  and  feathered,  ridden  on  rails,  ducked  in  muddy 
water,  and  even  hung,  or  shot,  where  any  sufficient  excuse  could 
be  had.  In  short,  every  species  of  taunt  and  insult  were  to  be 
used  in  order  to  arouse  and  irritate  tho.  North,  so  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's election  might  be  all  the  more  certain.  The  effects  of  ruffian- 
ism in  Kansas  had  proven  to  them  that  the  more  they  abused  the 
North,  the  more  intense  would  be  its  opposition  to  that  institution 
which  really  does  seem  to  engender,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
more  grossness  and  brutality  than  almost  any  other  known  to  the 
civilized  world.  Just  here  I  might  relate  a  few  incidents  which 
occurred  a  short  time  before  the  JPresidential  election,  which  fully 
illustrate  the  truth  of  what  I  have  just  been  stating.  In  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  about  the  middle  of  September,  1860,  there  were  found, 
wrapped  around  some  books,  a  few  copies  of  the  N.  Y.  Tribune, 
in  the  trunk  of  a  gentleman  from  Boston,  who  had  been  teaching 
music  in  Nashville  nearly  two  years.  The  mere  finding  of  these 
papers  in  his  possession  was  construed  by  Knights  into  "  distribut- 
ing incendiary  documents."  His  conviction  having  been  fully 
established  by  this  mere  fact,  he  was  conveyed  to  a  duck  puddle 
and  thoroughly  soaked  in  its  muddy  contents ;  he  was  then  gently 
tarred  and  feathered,  ridden  on  a  rail  all  around  town,  followed  by 
a  gang  of  the  "chivalry,"  and  finally  driven  out  of  town  by  the 
locomotive  "property"  which  it  was  thought  his  two  year  old 
Tribunes  were  likely  to  injure.  Another  instance.  An  "Egypt- 
ian," from  Illinois,  who  had  been  on  a.  visit  to  some  of  his  friends 
in  Tennessee,  in  September,  1860,  and  who  had  been  born  and 
raised  in  that  state,  was  going  home  per  railroad  through  Ken- 
tucky. The  train  was  pretty  well  filled  with  Knights  on  their  way 
to  Louisville,  to  assist  in  organizing  a  new  castle  in  that  place. 
Perceiving,  from  his  appearance,  that  he  was  a  Northerner,  they 
proceeded  to  cross-examine  the  "Egyptian"  respecting  his  politics. 
Seeing,  from  the  complexion  of  things  that  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere was  highly  "chivalrous,"  and  not  being  as  successful  a 
hypocrite  as  the  "Subscriber,"  he  endeavored  to  pursue  the  non- 
committal course.  But  that  would  not  do;  they  only  persisted 
the  more  urgently  with  their  quizzings.  B'inally,  he  told  them, 
very  frankly,  that  if  he  must  come  out,  he  expected  to  vote  for 
"  Old  Abe,"  if  he  lived  till  the  coming  election.  This  acknowledg- 
ment was  the  signal  for  hisses,  groanings,  jeerings,  etc.,  and 
finally  one  of  the  crowd  attempted  to  pull  his  nose,  when  he  pulled 
off  his  coat,  drew  himself  up  a  la  Heenan,  and  swore  most  lustily 
that  if  they  undertook  anything  of  that  kind,  he  would  "  thrash  tho 
whole  d — d  car  load."    Fortunately,  the  conductor,  and  one  or  two 


26  B3U»0SITI0N    DF  THE 

other  genuine  Kentucky  gentlemen,  induced  the  K.  G.  C.'s  to  de- 
sist their  more  than  heathenish  conduct.  But  still  they  could  not 
give  the  job  up  entirely;  and  when  the  train  stopped  at  tlie  next 
station,  they  induced  the  women  and  ciiildren  from  the  adjoining;; 
cars  to  come  in  and  look  at  what  they  called  the  ^^  Lincoln 
animaiy  1  did  not  learn  whether  they  charged  an  admission  fee 
at  the  door,  but  understood  that  many  of  the  "young  'uns"  con- 
sidered it  a  very  rare  exhibition. 

And  still  another  case:  Judge  ,  of  Greencastle,  Ind.,  was 

visiting  some  relatives  in  the  western  part  of  Kentucky,  in  the 
latter  part  of  September,  1860,  and  being  on  a  train  one  day 
which  contained  a  goodly  number  of  the  "chivalry,"  was  ques- 
tioned by  them  very  closely  as  to  his  politics.  He  told  them  lie 
was  a  Lincoln  man,  when  several  of  them  began  to  curse  him,  and 
threaten  to  put  him  oil'  the  train.  The  Judge,  however,  showed 
them  his  mettle,  gave  them  to  understand  that  he,  too,  was  a  Ken- 
tuckian  by  nativity,  and  that  before  they  insulted  him  they  had 
to  do  some  hard  fighting.     They  concluded  to  let  him  alone. 

Many  instances  more  of  a  similar  and  even  worse  character 
could  be  adduced  to  the  point,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  give  the 
reader  some  idea  of  the  Knights'  tactics  towards  Northern  men  in 
the  fall  of  1860.  During  the  whole  of  Lincoln's  campaign,  the 
newspapers  were  full  of  accounts  of  almost  insuirerable  abuses 
received  by  Northern  men,  every  one  of  which  was  justly  attribu- 
table to  the  Knights.  It  is  but  justice  to  the  South,  however,  to 
state  that  there  were,  at  this  time,  many  Southern  gentlemen,  even 
of  the  strong  pro-slavery  stamp,  who  utterly  discountenanced  these 
outrages. 


KNIGHTS   OF    THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE  27 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  close  of  Lincoln's  Campaign — "Submissionists" — "Firing 
THE  Southern  Heart  "  for  Secession — Great  Increase  of  the 
Knighthood — New  Degrees  instituted — the  Sworn  Brother- 
hood pledged  to  a  Southern  Government — Death  of  Aboli- 
tionists AND  other  Crimes  licensed — the  Election  of  Lincoln 
A  PLEA  for  "Southern  Deliverance" — Charleston  Castle — 
the  "Cockade"  excitement — Joy  over  the  Election  of  Lin- 
coln  "  Co-OPERATIONISTS"  CONFOUNDED  BY  THE  "PRECIPITATORS" 

— Immediate  Secession  the  war-cry  of  the  K.  G.  C. — the  Se- 
cession OF  South  Carolina,  and  its  Effect  upon  the  Gulf 
States — the  K.  G.  C.  opposed  to  Compromises — the  Different 
Modes  of  Adjustment  proposed  in  Congress  hooted  at. 

Toward  the  close  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  campaign  it  became  apparent 
that  his  election  was  pretty  certain.  Nearly  all  the  great  Middle 
and  Northwestern  States  had  elected  the  Republican  state  ticket, 
and  it  now  seemed  that  the  grand  object  for  which  the  Knights 
had  labored  so  earnestly  was  about  to  be  attained.  In  view  of 
tliis  contingency,  they  adopted  a  regular  system  of  brow-beating, 
almost  unequaled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  They  coined  the 
appellation  "Submissionist,"  and  applied  it,  with  great  bitterness, 
to  every  man  who  indicated  that  he  would  await  the  committal 
of  some  overt  act  before  he  was  willing  his  state  should  go  out  of 
the  Union.  Every  editor  and  orator  under  their  control,  or  within 
their  hellish  precincts,  indulged  in  the  most  abusive  epithets  to- 
ward loyal  citizens.  Every  appeal  was  made  to  Southern  pride 
and  Southern  honor.  Full  well  they  knew  the  effects  of  this  sys- 
tem of  "coercing"  the  Southern  people  into  the  inextricable  vor- 
tex of  secession.  Almost  any  really  high-toned  gentleman  of  the 
South  prefers  death  to  the  name  "  coward^"  which  term  was  con- 
sidered by  the  "chivalry"  as  synonymous  with  "Submissionist." 
This  devilish,  domineering,  and  yet  cowardly  style  of  "  firing  the 
Southern  heart,"  did  more  to  induce  men  to  enlist  in  the  cause  of 
secession  than  any  other  that  could  have  been  adopted. 

Further,  it  was  now  considered  a  good  time  to  extend  the  Ordei 
of  the  K.  G.  C.  Every  man  among  them,  therefore,  who  had 
education  enough  to  read  the  ritual,  was  delegated  to  go  forth 
and  organize  castles  wherever  he  could  find  the  material  with 
which  to  construct  one.  In  drumming  for  the  Order,  the  agents 
took  care  to  say  nothing  about  the  original  objects  for  which  it 
was  framed,  viz. :  the  re-establishment  of  the  African  slave-trade 
and  the  acquisition  of  slave  territory.     It  was  always  represented 


28  EXPOSITION  OP  THE 

to  outsiders  as  a  strictly  "  anti-submission  "  Order,  only  designed 
to  aid  in  the  securing  of  "  Southern  rights ; "  and  of  course  almost 
every  Southern  man  is  for  Southern  rights.  Castles  were  organ- 
ized wherever  a  sufl&cient  number  could  be  got  together  for  the 
purpose,  irrespective  of  regalia,  emblems,  or  any  of  the  regular 
paraphernalia  of  the  Order.  Court-rooms,  store-rooms,  and  even 
smokehouses  and  stables  were  used.  New  degrees  were  insti- 
tuted, which  were  called  "preliminary"  degrees.  In  these  the 
candidate  saw  but  little  of  the  "inner  beauties"  of  the  castle. 
In  the  first,  he  was  only  sworn  to  resist  the  encroachments  of 
"abolitionism"  with  all  his  powers;  in  the  second,  he  was  sworn 
to  stand  by  the  South,  and  especially  his  own  state,  and  follow 
her  destinies,  wherever  they  tended  ;  in  the  third,  which  was  the 
last  of  the  "preliminary"  degrees,  he  was  obligated  to  favor  a 
Southern  Confederacy,  and  to  pledge  himself,  and  all  that  he  had, 
in  its  support,  when  it  should  be  formed.  The  candidate  was  now 
prepared  to  enter  the  Outer  Temple  of  the  castle,  where  he  was 
received  according  to  the  new  ritual,  (one  framed  and  adopted  in 
October,  I860,)  which  required  the  most  solemn  pledges  that  the 
initiate  would  never  retrace  a  single  one  of  his  recent  steps,  and 
that  he  would,  to  the  utmost  of  his  powers,  aid  in  promoting  the 
formation  of  a  Southern  government.  Further,  this  ritual  de- 
mands that  a  man  shall  consider  no  act  toward  the  enemies  of 
"Southern  rights"  as  too  gross  or  unjust  for  him  to  commit.  In 
other  words,  he  is  required  to  swear  that  he  will  do  anything  to 
punish  "Abolitionists"  and  bring  them  to  terms,  the  injury  of 
their  women  and  children  excepted.  This  last  feature,  viz. :  the 
exception,  is  really  the  only  redeeming  one  of  the  whole  affair. 
This  ritual  also  gives  the  initiate  license  to  kill  any  man  whom 
he  has  reason  to  believe  is  a  real  Abolitionist,  in  any  way  he 
sees  proper,  and  the  Order  is  pledged  to  protect  him  to  the  end. 

Time  moved,  and  at  last  the  joyful  news  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  elec- 
tion was  trumpeted  throughout  the  South..  I  say  joyful,  because, 
to  the  Knights,  it  was  the  gladdest  intelligence  that  could  have 
been  borne  them.  All  the  principal  castles  now  put  on  their 
holiday  garments,  and  men  were  heard  in  the  streets  to  thank 
God  that  the  hour  for  "  Southern  deliverance  had  come.'*  (They 
should  have  thanked  the  devil,  because  he  is  their  master.)  Cal- 
houn Castle,  located  at  Charleston,  considered  itself  as  second  to 
no  place  but  Heaven,  and  hardly  to  that;  and  well  might  she 
have  felt  proud,  because  she  was  the  mother  of  Southern  harlots, 
and  to  her 'continuous  and  industrious  workings,  for  many  long 
years,  were  to  be  attributed  the  mighty  growth  of  the  secession 
snake,  which,  when  she  first  found  it,  was  indeed  a  very  young 
one.  Xo  sooner  had  the  news  of  the  election  of  Lincoln  been 
received,  than  every  Knight  in  Charleston  mounted  a  cockade  on 
his  hat,  and  ran  through  the  streets,  shouting,  "  Glory  I  we  aro 
free!  we  are  independent!     The  d — d  old  Union  is  gone  to helll" 


KNIGniS   OF   THE   GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  29 

Public  meetings  were  called,  and  the  greatest  demonstrations 
were  made.  Everything  was  to  be  done  in  hot  haste.  All  the 
epeeches  that  were  delivered  at  this  period  bj  the  Knights  par- 
took of  the  hot,  precipitous  character  of  the  conspirators,  yot- 
withstanding  their  efforts  to  increase  their  numbers  previous  to 
the  election,  thev  were  still  in  the  minority,  even  in  the  Gulf 
States,  and  it  ^\as  considered  as  fiital  in  the  extreme  to  allow  the 
common  people  of  the  country  the  least  opportunity  for  tliought 
or  reflection.  Many  of  these  latter  seemed  to  think  that  the 
matter  of  secession  should  be  left  with  the  border  Slave  States, 
it  being  clear  to  them  that,  inasmuch  as  these  states  were  more 
interested  than  theirs,  they  sliould  be  allowed  a  controlling  voice. 
Persons  of  this  order  of  thinking  termed  themselves  ''  Co-opera- 
tionists,"  and  favored  the  calling  of  a  convention  of  all  the  Slave 
States.  Hon,  A.  II.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  was  their  leader;  and 
had  it  not  been  for  his  great  popularity,  the  co-operative  theory 
would  have  dwindled  much  sooner  than  it  did.  It  is,  however, 
wonderful  how  the  "  Co-operationists,"  with  a  clear  majority  in 
every  state  but  South  Carolina,  should  have  suffered  themselves  to 
be  driven  into  the  whirlpool  of  secession  by  tlie  brow-beating  force 
of  the  appellations  "Submissionist,"  "Abolitionist." 

It  had  neycr  been  the  policy  of  the  Knights  to  allow  anything 
to  be  settled  by  the  majority  in  a  fair  way.  The  cause  which  they 
advocated  was  not  one  which  would  admit  of  reflective  delibera- 
tion, and  hence,  to  allow  the  people  time  to  reason  in  the  premises, 
and  determine  the  ultimate  effects  of  secession  upon  the  Slave 
States,  or  to  ascertain  the  administrative  policy  of  the  newly 
elected  President,  would  have  proved  fatal  to  their  designs.  It 
was  a  fact  which  none  could  deny,  that  the  Democracy  had  a  clear 
majority  in  both  houses  of  Congress — a  majority  which  could  have 
held  the  administration  in  check,  however  much  it  might  have  been 
disposed  to  diverge  from  the  path  of  constitutional  rectitude — a 
majority  which  might  have  literally  tied  the  President  hand  and 
foot,  and  have  rendered  him  as  incapable  of  encroaching  upon 
"Southern  rights"  as  an  oyster  is  of  making  an  aerial  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic,  or  a  Knight  of  getting  to  heaven — a  majority 
even  of  Breckinridge  Democrats,  who  would  rather  have  their 
right  arms  torn  from  their  sockets  than  deny  that  the  extension 
of  Slavery  and  the  protection  of  the  "  nigger"  is  the  genius  of  our 
Constitution  and  the  sole  end  of  Christianity — men  whose  motto 
was  ^''nigger  first  1  country  second !"  I  say,  all  this  was  well 
known  to  the  intelligent  men  of  the  nation,  and  yet  the  Southern 
people  were  constantly  told  that  nothing  but  secession  could  save 
them  from  a  subjugation  too  horrible  even  to  contemplate.  All 
the  newspapers  under  the  control  of  the  K.  G.  C,  were  constantly 
teeming  with  editorials  and  contributions  deeply  deploring  the 
humiliating  fact  that  there  were  "yet  a  few"  men  in  the  South, 
"so  unpatriotic  to  their  states,  and  so  untrue  to  themselves,'  as  to 


80  EXPOSITION   OF   THE 

oppose  a  declaration  of  "  Southern  independence."  Secession 
orators,  upon  the  stump,  branded  every  man  of  the  slightest  Union 
tendency  as  a  "cowardly  truckler"  an(i  a  "traitor  to  the  South." 
Everything  must  be  done  immediately ;  it  wa,s  worse  than  folly  to 
await  an  overt  act;  Lincoln's  election  was,  of  itself,  an  overt  act — 
no  time  was  to  be  lost. 

A  weak  cause  always  demands  precipitancy.  Of  this  the 
Knights  were  fully  awaro,  and,  therefore,  took  the  advantage  of 
the  chagrined  condition  of  the  Southern  people  to  "  rush  matters." 
Complete  arrangements  for  the  whole  secession  movement  had  been 
made  long  before  the  Presidential  election,  and,  therefore,  nothing 
remained  but  to  carry  it  forward.  No  respect  was  to  be  shown 
the  Government  or  the  U.  S.  laws  after  Lincoln's  ascension  to  the 
executive  chair.  Ample  provisions  were  made  for  stealing  on  a 
large  scale ;  United  States  senators  and  congressmen  were  to 
proceed  to  AVashington  and  receive  their  regular  pay  for  black- 
guarding the  North,  defaming  the  Government,  and' talking  treason, 
and  then,  so  soon  as  their  states  iiad  seceded,  whip  off  home  like 
a  thieving  hound  leaver  a  meat-house,  with  a  ham  in  his  mouth 
and  his  tail  between  his  legs.  All  the  plans  for  robbing  the  na- 
tional treasury,  securing  U.  S.  arms,  etc.,  were  also  being  put  into 
execution,  and  the  people  know  the  result.  They  don't,  however, 
know  all  of  them — that  secession,  with  all  its  hellish  concomitants 
was  the  legitimate  result  of  the  workings  of  a  long  and  well  or- 
ganized band  of  robrers,  more  damnable  than  any  who  ever  stood 
on  the  footstool,  and  pirates  blacker  than  any  who  have  preceded 
them  to  hell.  Nor  do  they  all  know  that  some  of  the  leading 
spirits  of  this  clique  had  been  at  the  very  head  of  the  American 
government  for  four  years  and  more.  There  are,  even  yet,  people 
who  do  not  like  to  acknowledge  that  such  men  as  Cobb  and  Floyd 
had  been  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  American  government, 
and  the  robbing  of  its  treasury  for  nearly  the  whole  time  they 
were  in  its  employ. 

Finally,  by  the  incessant  hurrying  and  driving  of  the  Knights, 
South  Carolina  was  precipitated  out  of  the  Union,  and  her  "in- 
dependence" declared.  This  they  considei:ed  "  knocking  the  key- 
stone out,"  which  would  be  followed  by  the  tumbling  of  the  whole 
arch,  as  indicated  by  the  motto  inscribed  upon  some  of  the  Charles- 
ton banners:  "South  Carolina  leads,  others  will  follow"  No 
advantage  was  to  be  lost,  and  the  old  adage:  "Give  the  devil  an 
inch  and  he  will  take  a  foot,"  proved  itself  true  in  this  instance. 
No  sooner  had  the  news  of  South  Carolina's  secession  reached  the 
principal  cities  in  the  Gulf  States,  than  exciting  bulletins  were 
thrown  broadcast,  cannons  fired,  public  mass  meetings  called,  ex- 
citing speeches  made,  resolutions  drawn  up,  read,  and  "  adopted"  by 
the  crowd,  and  every  other  means  of  "  firing  the  Southern  heart  ' 
applied  with  great  force.  At  all  these  meetings  and  demon- 
strations, special  arrangements  had  been  previously  made  by  til© 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE  GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  31 

K.  G.  C.  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  thej  intended  pre- 
senting. Thus,  it  was  frenerally  arranged  that  a  certain  number 
of  the  "chivalry"  should,  after  taking  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
inspinng  beverage,  go  into  the  assembly  "where  the  meeting  was 
to  be  held,  "hurra for  South  Carolina"  and  "the  South,"  and  curse 
Lincoln,  the  Union,  and  every  man  that  would  submit  to  "Aboli- 
tion rule."  Of  course,  respectable  gentlemen  knew  not  how  to 
successfully  withstand  this  kind  of  brutal  persuasion.  I  do  not 
know  whether  this  could  bo  called  "  coercion  "  or  not;  but  I  can 
certainly  see  very  little  difference  between  whisky  and  mob  sua- 
sion, and  what  some  people  call  coercion.  Perhaps  the  question 
might  be  settled  by  Webster,  Avere  it  not  that,  in  these  latter  days, 
that  inferior  lexicographer  had  been  superseded  by  such  learned 
dignitaries  as  Vallandighara  and  Gen.  Joe  Lane.  Now,  about  this 
time,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  people  in  the  North  wx-re  getting 
exceedingly  anxious  about  the  Union.  The  telegraph  was  re- 
peatedly announcing  the  calling  and  holding  of  "  big  mass  meet- 
ings," the  passage  of  "  conciliatory  resolutions,"  etc.  These  were 
laughed  to  scorn,  derided,  scoffed.  One  artistic  Knight,  who  was 
a  native  of  iJoston,  Mass.,  even  went  so  far  as  to  produce  a  couple 
of  pictures  expressive  of  the  extreme  plasticity  of  the  Philadel- 
phians.  The  tirst  of  these  pictures  presented  a  view  of  the  citizens 
of  the  City  of  15rotherly  Love,  immediately  after  the  election  of 
Lincoln,  paying  homage  to  "Old  Abe,"  and  a  big  "nigger"  who 
stood  by  his  side  as  Mr.  Hamlin.  The  second  presented  the  same 
citizens  after  the  secession  of  South  Carolina,  driving  the  "  nigger," 
with  clubs  and  hounds,  back  to  that  state,  and  kicking  •'  Honest 
Old  Abe"  off  a  rickety  old  bench,  which  bore  the  inscription 
"Chicago  Platform"  unto  another  called  "  Compromise."  These 
pictures  were  reproduced  in  great  numbers,  and  sent,  per  mail,  to 
every  castle  in  the  country.  They  were  also  sent  t-o  certain  private 
individuals  in  some  of  the  Northern  Border  State  towns.  1  was 
informed  that  no  less  than  fifty  were  maiied  to  northern  Knights. 
The  offers  of  compromise,  and  the  repeal'of  Personal  Liberty  Bills 
by  the  North  were  considered  not  only  humiliating  to  those  who 
offered  them,  but  insulting  to  those  to  whom  they  were  offered. 
By  some  they  were  presumed  to  be  hypocritictil  artifices,  intended 
to  hold  the  South  in  the  Union  while  she  should  be  lashed  by 
slavery  restriction.  The  truth  is,  the  K.  G.  C.  would  accept  no 
compromise,  and  none  could  have  been  framed  to  suit  them.  Se- 
cession they  had  been  working  zealously  to  achieve  for  several 
years,  and  secession  they  were  bound  to  have.  They  had  ex- 
pended time  and  money ;  they  had  sacrificed  the  last  vestige  of 
honor,  and  gone,  heart  and  soul,  into  the  most  diabolical  plots  and 
conspiracies  for  secession,  and  no  compromise  short  of  the  adop- 
tion, by  the  North,  of  the  proposed  Confederate  constitution,  would 
have  satisfied  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  there  was  immense  excitement  in  Congress,  as 


32  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

everybody  knows.  All  sorts  of  modes  of  adjustment  were  boins 
proposed  there;  almost  every  man  seemed  to  have  his  own  way  oi 
'* saving  the  Union."  Knights  heeded  none,  cared  for  none.  But 
among  all  others,  the  vigorous  plan  proposed  by  such  men  aa 
Wade,  of  Ohio,  and  Andy  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  produced  the 
most  decided  effect  The  only  practical  mode  of  affecting  ti^eces- 
sionists  is  to  make  them  either  angry  or  afraid.  The  speeches  of 
Johnson  did  both — angry,  because  ho  was  decidedly  hostile  to 
their  plans,  whereas  being  a  Ir'outhron,  they  thought  he  should  be 
their  friend — afraid,  because,  in  consequence  of  his  great  popu- 
larity in  Tennessee,  tliey  had  good  reason  to  believe  he  might 
prove  a  serious  drawback  to  them  in  that  state.  If  every  Senator 
and  Oongressman  who  had  taken  the  solemn  oath  to  obey  and 
defend  ttie  United  States  Constitution  had  been  as  faithful  to  his 
pledge  as  Johnson  was,  the  Confederates  would  never  have  gained 
the  time  on  the  government  they  did.  But  with  a  weak-spined, 
indecisive,  disconcerted,  treacherous  Congress,  a  majority  of 
genuine  Knights  in  the  Cabinet,  and  a  literal  mud  max  in  the 
Presidential  chair,  they  had  ample  time  and  facilities  to  drag  six 
more  states  out  of  the  Union,  occupy  forts,  steal  arms.,  fortify 
themselves,  and  laugh  defiance  in  the  very  face  of  the  government 
Among  all  the  compromises  proposed,  that  known  as  the  Critten- 
den Compromise  seemed  to  attract  most  attention.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Jeff  Davis  proposed  tiiat  if  the  Republicans 
would  present  this  compromise  "in  good  faith,"  the  South  would 
be  satisfied.  Never  did  a  greater  lie  escape  from  under  the  forge- 
hammer  of  the  father  of  lies  than  was  this.  In  the  first  place,  be 
(Davis)  is  one  of  the  oldest  Knights  in  the  South,  and  had  been 
the  chief  devil  in  all  the  black  work  described  in  the  preceding 
pages,  especially  that  of  the  three  last  years,  to  wit:  1858-'59-'60, 
and  had  sworn  in  castle  to  take  the  South  out  of  the  Union,  if  it 
were  in  his  power  to  do  so.  In  the  second  place,  he  had  written 
all  the  principal  castles  to  work  steadily  and  earnestly;  that  the 
Knights  in  Congress  and  in  the  Cabinet  were  acting  their  parts 
nobly,  (the  parts  they  had  to  perform  were  blackguarding  and 
steafing,)  and  that  everything  betokened  the  speedy  achievement 
of  Southern  independence.  In  the  third  and  last  place,  he  knew 
that  such  a  thing  as  the  offering  of  the  Crittenden  Compromise 
"in  good  faith,"  by  the  Republicans,  was  an  utter  impossibility. 
Then,  asks  the  reader,  what  was  Davis's  object  in  making  the  pro- 
position ?  It  was,  that  the  eyes  of  the  country  might  be  blinded 
to  the  real  character  and  objects  of  the  Secessionists,  and  thereby 
an  opportunity  afforded  for  the  more  successful  carrying  out  of 
their  nefarious  plans,  in  the  first  place;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
that  the  people  of  the  North  might  be  led  to  believe  that  the 
Southern  States  would  be  satisfied  with  what  was,  by  many,  thought 
to  be  a  fair  compromise.  The  latter  consideration  was  one  of  no 
email  value,  since  it  was  presumed  that  the  offers  of  "  fair  adjust- 


KNIGHTS   OP  THE  GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  39' 

ment"  by  the  South  would  go  very  far  to  stren<i;then  and  increase 
their  friends,  and  disarm  their  foes  in  the  North.  During  the 
early  compromise  discussions  in  Cono;ress,  many  of  the  hotter 
Secessionists  in  the  Gulf  States  were  declaring  they  would  have 
no  compromise ;  but  Jeff  wrote  them  to  be  still  and  allow  '•  things 
to  work  as  long  as  they  would  work,"  as  by  that  means  "much 
valuable  time  was  to  be  gained."  The  injunction  was  obeyed. 
Finally,  a  "Peace  Conference"  was  called  by  the  commanding 
voice  of  Virginia,  and  much  "valuable  time"  was  gained  by  its 
pointless,  useless  deliberations.  It  was  about  as  well  known 
before,  as  after,  the  meeting  of  the  Peace  Conference,  that  the 
North  would  never  accept  the  proposed  "  ultimatum"  of  Virginia; 
because,  in  truth,  the  so-called  ultimatum  was  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  Breckinridge  platform  stewed  down;  and  the  men 
who  drew  it  up,  being  mostly  Knights,  so  far  from  wishing  to 
settle  the  disturbances  of  the  country  by  it,  only  aimed  to  carry 
out  the  deep  laid  plans  of  Davis,  in  allaying  Northern  suspicion, 
dividing  Northern  sentiment,  and  winning  Northern  sympathy, 
while  their  brothers  in  Washington  were  stealing,  and  those  la 
th?  seceding  states  were  robbing  and  preparing  for  defense. 


34  EXPOSITION  OP  THE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CORRESPONDKfCE    BETWEEN'    SOUTHERN    AND    NoRTHKRN    KnIGHTS— 

Men  and  means  proffered — the  plan  to  assassinate  Lincoln 
AND  seize  the  Capital — Lincoln's  Inaugural — the  "Coercion" 
bugbear  of  the  K.  G.  C. — Excitement  in  the  Cotton  States — 
the  Military  Spirit  aroused— Floyd's  Treason — statement  of 
THE  "Stealings" — a  revival  of  the  Union  feeling  prior  to 
the  fall  of  Sumter — the  "Confederate  Statf^'"  Govern- 
ment  THE     attack     on     SuMTER    A    SOUTHERN     NECESSITY THE 

Order  becoming  unpopular,  and  an  increased  military  spirit 

NECESSARY  TO   REVIVE   IT THE   BoRDER   StATES  AND   THE   KnIGHTS 

THEREOF — Speech  of  a  Kentuckian — the  Rattlesnake's  Charm 
— the  Love  for  the  American  Flag. 

During  the  winter  of  1800-61,  an  extensive  correspondence 
was  going  on  between  Southern  and  Northern  Knights,  in  which 
the  hitter  were  representing  the  attachment  to  "Black  Repub- 
licanism" as  growing  "small  by  degrees  and  beautifully  less." 
Some  of  these  correspondents  even  went  so  far  as  to  undertake 
to  prove  that,  in  -case  of  a  revolt  of  the  South,  Mr.  Lincoln,  who 
had  not  yet  been  inaugurated,  could  not  raise  half  as  many 
men  to  fight  for  "the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  enforce- 
'ment  of  the  laws,"  as  could  be  sent  South  to  assist  in  maintain- 
ing "  Southern  rights."  I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  read  or 
copy  any  of  the  numerous  letters  written  by  the  Northern 
"chivalry,"  but  was  informed,  by  leading  spirits  of  the  Order,  that 
they  had  every  assurance  that  they  would  obtain  all  the  help  in 
the  North  they  desired,  both  in  the  way  of  men  and  means.  A 
certain  gentleman  in  Evansville,  Ind.,  had  promised  a  couple  of 
regiments,  armed  and  equipped.  A  certain  very  prominent  poli- 
tician in  Ohio  had  made  a  similar  demonstration  of  his  devotion 
to  the  South.  Another,  of  the  latter  stripe,  in  New  York,  had 
promised  a  brigade  of  five  thousand  men,  furnished  for  the  war. 
The  above  individuals  were  to  procure  their  arms,  etc.,  from  the 
United  States  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  their  Southern 
brethren  had  taken  them  in  their  section. 

The  inauguration  of  Lincoln  being  near  at  hand,  some  of  the 
K.  G.  C.  bethought  themselves  that  it  would  be  a  very  fine  idea 
to  assassinate  him,  and  capture  Washington,  inasmuch  as  such  a 
thrilling  movement  would  strike  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  "Abo- 
litionists," afford  an  opportunity  to  rob  the  National  Treasury, 
and  thus  secure  the  entire  field  in  advance.  I  am  ashamed  to 
own  that  there  were  not  a  few  sneaking  devils  north  of  Mason 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  35 

and  Dixon's  line  who  counseled  this  diabolical  policy,  and 
promised  assistance  in  its  prosecution.  Now,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  encouragement  given  them  from  Northern  quarters,  the 
Southern  Castles  would  never  have  matured  the  plan  for  the  Capi- 
tal's seizure  as  far  as  they  did. 

The  plan  alluded  to,  of  which  the  people  of  the  country  gener- 
ally had  several  hints,  was  as  follows:  About  one  thousand  men, 
armed  with  bowie  knives  and  pistols,  were  to  meet  secretly  at 
Baltimore,  where  they  were  to  secure  the  services  of  the  Plug 
Uglies.  Thence  they  were  to  proceed  to  Washington,  on  the  day 
previous  to  the  inauguration,  and  stop  at  the  hotels  as  private 
citizens,  after  which  their  leader  was  to  reconnoiter  and  select  the 
most  effective  mode  of  operations  on  the  succeeding  day.  This 
Bcheme  was  not  encouraged  by  Jeff  Davis,  as  he  was  not  yet  quite 
crazy  enough  to  think  that  a  few  dozen  of  the  "chivalry"  could 
terrify  the  whole  world  by  one  demonstration.  Wigfall,  however, 
thought  it  a  "capital"  idea,  in  more  senses  than  one,  and  urged 
its  vigorous  prosecution.  Fortunately,  the  plot  was  discovered,  to 
some  extent,  in  time  to  give  Gen.  Scott  jan  opportunity  to  present 
some  very  forcible,  and,  with  the  K.  G.  C,  decisive  arguments 
against  it.  I  know  the  Governor  of  Maryland  tried  to  make  it 
appear  that  no  contemplated  plan  for  the  assassination  of  the 
President  elect  existed;  but  he  really  knew  about  as  little  of  the 
mattftr  as  ^[r.  Lincoln  himself,  and  had  he  known  it.  would  doubt- 
less have  done  all  in  his  power  to  conceal  the  matter,  when  he 
saw  the  preparations  being  made  to  prevent  it,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  fair  fame  of  Baltimore.  Finally,  the  day  for  the  inaugu- 
ration (March  4,  1861)  arrived,  and  the  presence  of  Scott's  U.  S. 
troops,  and  the  grim  appearance  of  his  flying  artillery,  made  the 
occasion  as  peaceful  as  it  was  imposing  The  anxiously  looked 
for  inaugural  address  was  delivered,  and  sent  forth  on  the  wings 
of  the  telegraph  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  In  the  South  it  was 
received  as  a  "coercive"  document,  while  in  the  North,  the  ma- 
jority regarded  it  as  a  conservative  exposition  of  policy.  Even 
the  majority  of  Northern  Democrats  with  whom  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  conversing,  thought  the  President  could  have  saifl  no 
less  than  he  did,  and  abide  by  the  Constitution.  The  mere  inti- 
mation contained  in  the  inaugural  speech  that  the  laws  would  be 
enforced,  was  all  the  Knights  desired.  This  was  "  coercion" 
enough  for  them,  and,  in  their  estimation,  no  epithet  was  too  con- 
temptible to  apply  to  those  who  indorsed  it,  whether  living  North 
or  South.  Here  was  another  chance  to  sweep  loyal  Southern  men 
from  their  position  of  honor  into  the  secession  hell. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln's  inauguration,  one  of  the  first  questions  for 
him  to  settle  was,  "  What  shall  we  do  with  the  Confederates  and  the 
forts?"  A  question  more  diflScult  of  solution  never  came  before  an 
administration.     Mr.  Floyd,  Buchanan's  Secretary  of  War,  bad 


36  EXPOSITION    OF   THB 

devoted  about  one  ont  of  the  four  years  of  the  precoJing  adminis- 
tration to  the  removal  of  arms  in  lar^e  quantities  from  the  Northern 
and  Border  Slave  States  to  the  six  Cotton  States,  while  Toucej,  the 
then  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had  scut  the  large  majority  of  our 
available  ships-of-uar  to  distant  foreign  stations — so  far  off,  in  fact, 
that  tbey  have  not,  even  at  tiie  date  J  am  now  writing,  returned; 
Charleston  rebels  had  garrisoned  Fort  Moultrie,  and  erected  the 
most  powerful  and  effective  batteries  all  aronnd  Sumter,  supported 
by  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men;  in  all  the  seven  seceded  states 
men  by  thousands  were  being  mustered  into  the  "Confederate" 
service,  drilled  and  equipped  for  war;  and,  more  deplorable  than 
all  else,  there  Avere  scores  of  men  in  the  loyal  states  who  declared 
they  could  not  support  Mr.  Ijincoln  in  a  ^'coercive'  policy.  In 
short,  the  new  Administration  was  literally  tied  hand  and  foot, 
and  the  most  that  it  could  do  was  to  await  the  course  of  events, 
and  take  opportunity  by  the  forelock. 

Lest  name  persons  should  doubt  the  truth  of  the  allegations  1 
have  made  against  Floyd,  I  have  thought  it  well  to  present  the 
proofs.  The  following  is  from  the  Richmond  Examine)^  a  South- 
ern paper,  especially  devoted  to  the  cause  of  secession  : 

"  The  facts  we  are  about  to  state  are  official  and  indisputable. 
Under  a  single  order  of  the  late  Secretary  of  War,  the  lion.  Mr. 
Floyd,  made  during  last  year,  (LSGO,)  there  were  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  improved  muskets  and  rifles  transferred  from 
the  Springfield  armory  and  Watervlret  arsenal  to  different  arsenals 
in  the  South.  The  precise  destination  that  was  reached  by  all 
these  arms,  we  have  official  authority  for  stating  to  have  been  as 
follows : 

Percussion  Altered  Percussion 

.                              Muskots.  Muskets.  Rifles, 

Charleston  (S.  C.J  Arsenal 9,280  5.720  2,000 

North  Carolina  Arsenal 15,408  9,520  2.000 

Augusta  (Ga.)  Arsenal 12.380  7,620  i;.000 

MouMt  Vernon,  Alabama 9,280  5,720  2,000 

Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana 18,520  11,420  2,000 

\  "The  total  number  of  improved  arms  thus  supplied  to  five  .de- 
positories in  the  South,  by  a  single  order  of  the  late  Secretary  of 
War,  was  114,860.  What  numbers  are  supplied  by  other  and 
minor  orders,  and  what  number  of  improved  arms  had,  before  the 
great  order,  been  deposited  in  the  South,  can  not  now  be  ascer- 
tained." 

Besides  this,  a  Memphis  paper  gives  the  following  list  of  "  seiz- 
ures" of  Federal  arms  by  the  Confederates,  other  than  those  ia 
Flovd's  list: 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  37 

Baton  Rouge 70,000 

Alabama  Arsenal .' 28,000 

Elizabeth,  North  Carolina 30,000 

Fayetteville,  North  Carolina 35,000 

Charleston 23,000 

Norfolk 7,000 

Total , 193,000 


Thus  it  appears  that  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  of  the  best 
arms  of  the  Federal  Government  were  put  within  the  reach  of  its 
eworn  enemies  long  before  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
the  Presidency;  and  yet  there  were  men  among  us,  pretending  to 
be  loyal,  who,  up  to  the  very  day  of  Sumter's  bombardment,  de- 
clared the  "South  only  wanted  her  rights;"  that  she  could  be  easily 
"compromised  back  into  the  Union;"  and  that  it  would  be  a  frar 
tricidal  crime  to  ^^  coerce"  her.  According  to  the  advanced  views 
of  this  progressive  age,  it  is  very  wrong  to  "coerce"  a  regularly 
organized  band  of  "burglars  and  robbers  to  justice.  I  presume 
that  if  tlie  devil  was  to  lead  his  impish  legions  to  the  very  portals 
of  Paradise,  and  threaten  to  bombard  the  New  Jerusalem,  it 
would  be  very  ^'coercive''  in  Jehovah  to  send  Michael  and  his 
army  to  repulse  him. 

Time  progressed,  and  it  began  to  appear  that  Lincoln's  course 
was  to  be  a  peaceful  one.  This  had  the  effect  to  induce  the  Union 
men  of  the  South — for  there  were  yet  many  there — to  believe  that,  . 
perhaps,  a  brighter  day  was  ahead.  In  fiict,  the  Union  feeling 
was  becoming  so  strong,  from  the  lapse  of  excitement,  that,  toward 
the  close  of  March,  Union  flags  were  raised  in  Mobile  and  Natchez. 
The  Knights  were  not  blind  to  this  reaction.  A  little  time  and 
reflection,  they  knew,  would  ruin  their  enterprise.  Meantime, 
many  who  had  hcen  "coerced"  into  castle  were  withdrawing,  and 
it  became  clearly  obvious  that,  without  some  new  excitement,  the 
cause  of  the  devil  would  suffer  a  most  inglorious  defeat  in  Ala- 
bamay  at  least.  The  truth  is,  the  people  in  nearly  all  the  Cotton 
States  were  growing  tired  of  so  much  extra  taxation  and  slavish 
drudgery  for  the  mere  sake  of  sustaining  the  name  of  the  "South- 
ern Confederacy."  As  a  means  of  keeping  up  "  the  interest,"  the 
Montgomery  Congress  appointed  and  sent  commissioners  to  Wash- 
ington to  treat  with  the  President,  a  good  deal  after  the  manner 
that  his  Satanic  Majesty  treated  with  Jesus  Christ  on  the  mount 
If  these  commissioners  were  not  officially  received,  it  was  to  be 
taken  for  granted  that  Lincoln  intended  "coercion;  "  and  yet  no 
human  being,  with  any  knowledge  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
could  explain  how  the  President  could  negotiate  with  the  "  Con- 
federate Commissioners"  Avithout  violating  his  oath.  The  Confed- 
erate Congress,  which  had  met  at  Montgomery,  framed  a  Consti- 
tution, elected  a  President,  (Davis,)  a  Vice  President,  (Stephens,) 


38  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

and  formed  a  provisional,  or,  more  properly  speakinjz;,  bogus  gOT« 
ernment,  could  not  confer  the  constitutional  authority  upon  Lin- 
coln to  receive  their  bastard  commissioners;  Mr.  Lincoln  himself 
could  not  do  it  without  having  a  new  constitution  forged  for  the 
occasion — which  a  good  many  Northerners  seemed  anxious  he 
should  do;  so  what,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  could  be  done 
to  prevent  that  thing,  so  much  dreaded  by  Northerners,  and  so 
terribly  hated  by  Southrons,  called  ^'coercion  f" 

In  the  mean  time,  something  was  to  be  done  with  Forts  Sumter 
and  Pickens.  If  they  were  not  evacuated,  that  was  to  be  consid- 
ered "coercion;"  if  they  were  to  be  reinforced,  that  was  awful 
"coercion;"  finally,  if  their  starving  garrisons  were  to  be  furn- 
ished something  to  eat,  that  was  "  treacherous  coercion."  In  short, 
everything  looking  toward  the  retention  of  the  Federal  property 
was  construed  into  "  coercion."  The  "  Confederate  Commission- 
ers" proposed  to  purchase  the  United  States  property  within  their 
boundary,  in  order  to  "  save  bloodshed."  The  leaders  in  the  bogus 
government  desired  to  create  the  impression  that  they  intended  to 
exhaust  every  peaceable  method  for  securing  the  acknowledgment 
of  their  independence  before  resorting  to  arms,  while,' in  reality, 
the  uppermost  desire  in  their  piratical  hearts  was  that  they  might 
have  a  battle;  for,  without  a  battle  or  two,  there  was  not  the  least 
hope  that  the  Border  Slave  States  could  be  induced  to  secede.  In 
proof  of  this  assertion,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  historical  fact  that, 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  had,  through  the  advice  of  his  military  func- 
tionaries, concluded  to  evacuate  Sumter,  the  authorities  at  Charles- 
ton refused  to  allow  it  on  any  other  than  their  own  conditions. 
They  would  agree  to  nothing  but  an  unconditional  surrender; 
would  not  allow  that  the  fort  should  be  claimed  as  United  States 

f)roperty,  nor  that  Major  Anderson  should  even  be  allowed  to  sa- 
ute his  flag,  on  leaving  it. 

The  ostensible  objects,  therefore,  in  sending  the  "Confederate 
Commissioners  "  to  Washington  were,  in  the  first  place,  to  procure 
a  battle;  in  the  second  place,  to  avail  themselves  of  sufficient 
time  and  sympathy  to  make  ample  preparations  for  the  future; 
and,  in  the  third  place,  by  their  hypocritical  pretensions  to  a  de- 
sire for  peace,  to  inflame  and  draw  off  the  Border  Slave  States. 

Prominent  members  of  the  K.  G.  C.  in  the  latter-named  states 
had  written  to  the  authorities  in  Montgomery,  informing  them  that 
the  Order  was  becoming  so  unpopular  in  their  region  that,  in 
many  instances,  castles  were  obliged  to  surrender  their  charters; 
that  their  neighbors  were  becoming  even  disgusted  with  the  Pro- 
visional Government  and  the  movements  of  the  seceded  states,  and 
that  without  something  to  excite  their  Southern  pride,  the  cause 
would  be  lost  beyond  redemption.  A  battle  at  Sumter  or  Pick- 
ens would  excite  that  pride,  and  advantage  must  be  taken  of  the 
first  opportunity  for  a  collision.  I  was  in  Kentucky  about  thia 
time,  (latter  part  of  March,  1861,)  and  many  of  the  best  citizens 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE  GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  39 

o€  that  state  told  me  that  they  (the  Kentuckians)  had  no  sympa- 
thy with  South  Carolina,  the  leader  of  the  rebellion;  that  they 
even  hated  her,  but  that,  in  case  of  a  "  coercive  policy "  on  the 
part  of  the  Federal  Administration,  State  pride  would  carry  them 
with  her. 

Southern  pride  is  a  thing  of  remarkable  sensitiveness ;  so  sen- 
sitive, in  fact,  that,  when  wounded,  it  induces  men  who  pretend 
to  be  very  intelligent  to  overlook  all  their  political,  social,  and 
personal  interests  for  the  mere  sake  of  resentment.  I  heard  a 
man  deliver  a  speech  in  Owensboro',  Kentucky,  in  which  he 
declared  that  secession  was  unconstitutional,  and  that  every  intel- 
ligent man  knew  there  was  no  such  thing  as  "  the  right  of  seces- 
sion ; "  that,  under  existing  circumstances,  there  was  no  excuse 
justifying  the  act;  that  the  mere  election  of  any  man  according 
to  the  prescribed  mode  of  the  Constitution,  did  not  justify  any 
state  in  leaving  the  Union ;  that  Lincoln  had  done  nothing  to 
warrant  such  an  action;  that  it  was  not  probable  he  would;  and 
that,  in  reality,  every  man  who  favored  or  advocated  secession 
was,  according  to  the  laws  of  nations  and  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  a  traitor  and  a  rebel.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  our 
interests,  our  sympathies  are  with  the  South,  and  we  must  go 
wherever  she  does.  If  we  do  not,  we  are  lost,  irrecoverably  lost." 
He  then  referred  to  the  fact  that,  during  the  late  presidential 
canvass,  he  had  labored  zealously  for  the  election  of  Bell  and 
Everett;  that  he  had  always  been  a  Union  man,  had  ever  loved 
the  Union,  and  that  no  man  had  ever  done  more  to  prevent  dis- 
solution than  he,  as  long  as  he  thought  it  rational  to  indulge 
hope,  but  that  the  secession  of  South  Carolina  was,  to  him,  the 
death-knell  of  the  Union.  Then,  in  the  most  touching  and  elo- 
quent terms,  he  alluded  to  the  old  American  flag ;  said  that  with 
his  very  mother's  milk  he  had  imbibed  an  indescribable  love  and 
reverence  for  that  flag;  that  his  grandfather  had  spent  the  vigor 
of  his  youth  and  the  flower  of  his  manhood  in  defending  the 
banner  of  the  free  in  '76;  that  his  father,  with  his  only  uncle, 
(David  Crockett,)  had  both  fallen  upon  the  battle-field,  each  fight- 
ing, as  long  as  life  and  action  remained,  to  sustain  the  honor  of 
the  glorious  old  stars  and  stripes;  that  no  flag  on  earth  could 
ever  occupy  the  place  in  his  affections  that  the  old  American 
ensign  had.  "But,"  said  he,  "I  do  not  like  the  hands  it  has 
fallen  into.  I  am  a  Southern  man,  we  are  all  Southern  men,  and 
a  Northern  sectional  candidate  has  been  elected  by  a  sectiona. 
vote.  Our  sister  Southern  States  have  become  indignant  at  this 
action,  and  have  seceded  from  the  Union ;  and  although  we — many 
of  us,  at  least — part  with  the  old  Union  and  the  old  flag  with  sighs 
and  regrets,  we  are  forced  to  do  it,  or  submit  ourselves  to  a  tyran- 
nical and  oppressive  'Abolition'  majority,  where  we  will  be  worse 
than  slaves.  There  would  have  been  no  necessity  for  this  act  of 
rebellion — for  rebellion  it  is — if  our  sisters  on  the  Gulf  coast  had 


40  EXPOSITION   OF  'TUB 

staid  in  the  Union,  and  thereby  preserved  a  Democratic  majority. 
So  that  it  is  not  really  any  objection  to  the  old  Government,  or 
hatred  to  Lincoln,  that  carries  a  great  many  of  us  with  the  seced- 
ing states,  but  a  consciousness  of  our  absolute  inability  to  stand 
'alone  and  single-handed  against  the  North,  who  undoubtedly  will, 
now  that  so  many  Southern  States  have  gone,  rule  us  with  a  rod 
of  iron." 

The  foregoing  is,  substantially,  a  speech  made  in  Owensboro', 
on  the  evening  of  March  28,  1861,  by  J.  W.  Crockett,  of  Ken- 
tucky. I  have  quoted  it  from  memory.  The  best  I  could  do, 
therefore,  was  to  give  the  substance.  The  style  of  the  speaker  can 
never  be  conveyed  to  one  that  never  heard  him.  J.  W.  Crockett 
is  an  orator  of  great  force  and  surpassing  eloquence,  and  I  do  not 
remember  to  have  ever  hoard  a  speech  that  produced  the  effect 
on  me  that  this  one  did.  The  speaker  was  naturally  a  noble  man, 
of  generous  impulses  and  warm  sympathies,  of  hopeful  soul  and 
patriotic  heart,  but  in  the  worst  company  that  could  have  been 
selected  for  him.  As  he  spoke  of  the  glory  of  the  old  flag  and 
the  love  he  bore  it,  tears  gathered  in  his  eyes  and  trickled  down 
his  cheeks,  which  were  covered  with  the  blush  of  shame;  the 
expression  of  his  large  gray  eye  was  that  of  mingled  sorrow  and 
regret,  while  his  manly  breast  heaved  tumultuously,  almost  to  the 
ehoking  of  his  utterance.  Jn  short,  he  seemed  aa  ''a  strong  man 
bound,"  without  the  power  of  escaping  from  those  who  were  ap- 
plying to  him  the  fccoriating  lash  of  disunion,  and  forcing  him 
to  utter  their  sentiments,  not  his.  Ue  had  been  taught  by  his 
mother  to  love  the  country  and  the  flag  for  which  his  father  had 
died;  he  had  been  taught  by  her  to  respect  the  truth  and  ac- 
knowledge the  superior  claiins  of  justice;  he  had  been  taught  to 
avoid  evil  and  keep  out  of  the  way  of  evil  doers.  But  the  insid- 
ious serpent  of  secession  had  coiled  itself  about  his  soul,  fastened 
its  poisonous  fangs  upon  his  heart,  and  destroyed  his  manhood. 

Nor  is  he  the  only  one  who  has  been  falsely  lured  from  the 
path  of  loyalty  into  the  disunion  hell.  Hundreds,  if  not  thou- 
sands, of  others  are  in  the  same  deplorable  condition.  Who  is 
silly  enough  to  presume  that  men  thus  humbled  by  the  remem- 
brance of  the  past,  men  thus  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  a  guilty 
conscience,  can  fight  for  what  they  know  to  be  an  unjust  cause, 
as  the  soldier  of  freedom  can  battle  for  the  Union,  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  the  star-spangled  banner?  I  am  fully  convinced  that, 
before  this  war  is  ended,  hundreds  of  Knights  who  have  been 
*'  coerced"  into  castle  and  the  advocacy  of  secession,  will  ask  pro- 
tection under  the  flag  of  the  Union.  Will  not  the  response  of 
every  true  American  be,  "They  shall  have  it?" 

But  I  am  about  to  allow  my  feelings  to  carry  me  too  far  from 
the  point.     The  object  in  quoting  so  largely  from  the  speech  of 

J.  W.  C was  to  show  that  the  Southern  people  were  growing 

: absolutely  tired  of  secession,  and  that  some  even  of  the  K.  G.  C 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  41 

were  beginnins  to  reflect,  and  repent  of  their  crimes.  The  Confed- 
erate leaders  were  not  blind  to  these  facts.  Somethinir,  therefore, 
to  frenzy  their  blood,  and  prevent  them  from  returninir  to  sanity, 
was  indispensable  to  self-preservation.  INleantime,  South  Carolini- 
ans were  "spoiling  for  a  fight."  They  had  gone  to  too  much  expense 
and  trouble  not  to  have  one.  Mr.  Lincoln  having  refused  to  sac- 
rifice his  own  and  the  nation's  honor  on  the  altar  of  the  "  nigger 
baby,"  by  not  submitting  to  Jeff  Davis's  demand  of  an  unconditional 
surrender  of  Forts  Sumter  and  Pickens,  it  was  considered  that  a 
fine  opportunity  for  arousing  the  spirit  and  pride  of  the  "  chival- 
ry "  had  arrived.  It  was  now  generally  understood  to  be  the  policy 
of  the  Administration  to  retain  the  forts  without  reinforcements. 
Bat  as  the  garrisons  could  not  live  without  something  to  eat,  and 
as  their  supplies  were  about  exhausted,  the  reprovisioning  of  the 
forts  was  unavoidable.  The  attempt  to  carry  food  to  Sumter  by 
an  unarmed  vessel  was  the  signal  for  its  bombardment,  April  12, 
1861,  which  resulted  in  its  final  surrender.  Meanwhile,  it  had 
been  threatened  that,  at  the  shedding  of  the  first  blood,  an  army 
would  immediately  be  ready  to  march  on  Washington;  and  num- 
bers of  weak-minded  men  in  the  Border  States  were  saying  that, 
although  they  had  voted  for  Bell  and  Everett,  and  done  all  they 
could  to  prevent  dissolution,  yet,  in  case  a  fight  occurred,  thejj 
would  be  forced  to  go  with  the  South. 

Really,  this  thing  called  Southern  sympathy  is  the  most  remark- 
able thing  I  have  ever  come  in  contact  with.  To  illustrate: 
Some  time  before  the  battle  at  Fort  Sumter,  a  secession  flag  was 
being  raised  in  Mobile,  around  which  were  gathered  several  men 
who  had,  until  the  departure  of  their  state  from  the  Union,  been 
warmly  opposed  to  disunion.  Among  these  was  a  man  who,  in 
all  respects,  bore  the  marks  of  a  gentleman.  When  the  flag  was 
run  up,  and  the  crowd  Avcre  cheering  it  lustily,  this  man,  to  be 
in  the  fashion,  took  off  his  hat,  waved  it  three  times  round  his 
head  without  saying  a  word;  and  just  as  he  was  replacing  it, 
turned  from  the  intent  gaze  of  a  bitter  secessionist  who  stood  at 
his  elbow,  and  drawing  a  long  sigh,  remarked,  in  a  suppressed 
tone,  to  himself:  ''^  But  that  is  not  the  star-spangled  banner.  It 
will  never  be  the  flag  of  America;  and  ivho  can  hope  for  the 
protection  under  it  we  enjoyed  under  the  stars  and  stripes  ? '' 
Another  instance :  I  was  in  Kentucky  immediately  after  the  Sum- 
ter engagement,  and  the  Knights  in  the  town  I  was  stopping  at 
having  thoroughly  "fired  the  Southern  heart,"  and  forced  nearly 
3very  man  either  into  their  own  way  of  thinking  or  to  utter 
silence,  were,  on  the  15th  of  April,  engaged  in  hoisting  a  J.  D. 
flag,  with  fifteen  stars  in^ead  of  seven.  Jn  the  assembly  gathered 
for  this  treasonable  purpose  was  a  gray-haired  veteran  of  ninety- 
six  years,  who  had  served  through  the  war  of  1812,  and  had  also 
fought  in  the  frontier  wars;  was  a  colonel  under  Harrison,  and 
was  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.     When  the  emblem  of  rebellion 


42  EXPOSITION   OF   THE 

had  been  thrown  to  the  breeze,  and  the  half-drunken  crowd  wore 
expressing  their  approbation  in  demoniac  yells,  the  old  soldier, 
for  the  first  time  in  several  years,  raised  himself  erect,  and,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  remarked:  '■'- 1  am  as  good  a  Southern  Riyhts 
man  as  anybody,  but  I  can  never  recognize  that  Jlag.  Icouldjigkt 
the  Yankees  or  the  devil  under  the  stars  and  &tripes,  but  under 
no  other  ensign." 

Thus  it  is  with  thousands  who  will  compose  the  rebel  army. 
The  infatuation  which  induces  the  belief  that  they  are  to  fight  in 
defense  of  their  '"homes,"  "rights,"  and  ^'sacred  soif,"  which  are 
being  invaded  by  a  ruthless  foe,  is  nothing  to  compare  with  the 
patriotic  love  and  veneration  for  the  stars  and  stripes  which  per- 
vades the  entire  body  of  our  soldiery.  And  this  feeling  has  not 
altogether  died  out  with  those  who  will  fight  against  that  flag, 
under  such  misguided  leaders  as  Jeff  Davis  and  ]5eauregard.  The 
Southern  people  have,  in  every  war  in  which  we  have  hitherto 
been  engaged,  displayed  great  courage  and  gallantry;  but  I  firmly 
believe  that  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  unholy  cause  in 
which  they  are  now  required  to  enlist,  will  render  them  totally 
incapable  of  retaining  their  former  prestige, 


KNIGHTS    OF   THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  43 


CHAPTER  YIl. 

The  Bombardment  of  Fokt  Sumter — its  Effect  upon  the  Border 
States — Agents  of  the  K.  G.  C.  at  work — their  cool  recep- 
tion IN  Southern  Indiana  and  Illinois — Gag  law  and  Mob 
rule — Prentice,  Guthrie,  Johnson,  and  Brownlow  classed  as 
**  Hard-Shells" — the  man^'er  in  which  proselytes  are  made — 

the  candidate  in  the  ante-room — THE  "PRELIMINARY  DEGREES," 

THEIR  Forms,  Symbols,  and  Oaths — the  "Outer  Temple" — its 
initiatory  ceremonies — the  outside  designs  of  the  Order — how 
Con"«:entions,  Legislatures,  and  Elections  are  controlled — 
"KnivZuts'  Safety  Guards"  and  "Knights  Gallant" — South- 
ern Ladies  sent  North  as  Spies — Plans  to  destroy  Property 
at  the  North — Northern  Sympathizers. 

The  battle  at  Fort  Sumter  had,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
effect  in  the  Border  States  that  the  secession  leaders  desired  it 
should.  Virginia  was,  by  the  villainous  acts  of  the  Knifrhts, 
declared  out  of  the  Union,  as  was  likewise  Arkansas  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  it  was  fully  expected  that  every  remaining  Southern 
Stote  would  soon  follow,  for  without  all  of  them  it  was  not  hoped 
to  make  a  successful  attack  on  Washington.  It  was  also  confi- 
dently expected,  from  the  representations  of  Northern  men,  that 
their  section  would  be  greatly  divided  in  sentiment,  and  that  much 
assistance  might  be  looked  for  in  that  direction.  It  is  not  to  be 
■wondered  at  that  they  should  have  expected  succor  from  th* 
North,  when,  up  to  the  very  day  of  Lincoln's  proclamation,  sucl 

influential  men  as  the  Hon.  Mr.  B ,  and  H ,  of  Indiana, 

the  Hon.  Mr.  V ,  of  Ohio,  and  other  equally  prominent  mei 

had  promised  that  thousands  of  men  in  the  North  "would  help 
the  South,  if  the  South  would  help  herself"  This  latter  quotation 
I  take  from  the  speech  of  an  Indiana  State  Senator,  made  in  Ken- 
tucky but  a  few  days  before  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter. 
Said  Honorable  has  since  renounced  "  the  faith"  and  gone  over  to 
the  side  of  the  Union.  Many  others  have  "  gone  and  done  like- 
wise." Hope  their  repentance  is  genuine,  and  that  they  will 
"bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance." 

About  this  time,  agents  were  sent  into  all  the  border  Slave  and 
Free  States  to  stir  up  the  Southern  feeling,  assist  in  the  convoca- 
tion of  Secession  Conventions,  and  do  all  they  could  in  the  promo 
tion  of  that  outside  pressure  which  is  indispensable  to  secession 
everywhere.  The  first  thing  for  these  agents  to  do,  was  to  institute 
castles  wherever  a  suflBcient  number  of  the  friends  of  "Southern 
Rights"  could  be  called  together  for  the  purpose.    Those  delegated 


44  EXPOSITION   OF   THK 

to  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Virginia,  etc.,  reported  favorably; 
but  those  who  visited  Southern  Indiana  and  other  Northern  border 
States,  found  the  soil  and  climate  very  unfavorable,  not  only  to  the 
growth  of  secession  sprouts,  but  to  their  own  personal  comfort.  To 
their  great  mortification,  they  saw  that  no  man  north  of  the  Ohio 
river  was  willing  to  tie  the  portion  of  the  state  in  which  he  lived 
to  the  tail  end  of  the  rattlesnake,  or  fight  under  the  flag  of  three 
stripes  and  seven  stars.  Whenever  one  of  these  Southern  agents 
came  in  contact  with  a  native  Northern  Knight,  he  was  immedi- 
ately advised  that  the  "Abolitionists"  had  the  whole  North,  and 
that  it  was  even  inimical  to  one's  individual  well-being  to  say  any- 
thing indicating  sympathy  with  Jeff  Davis.  The  result  was  that 
they  left  in  great  disgust.  Meanwhile,  the  Northern  Secessionists 
found  the  Union,  or,  as  they  term  it,  "Abolition"  feeling,  growing 
so  strong  that  they  were  denied  the  ^^  liberty  of  speech,"  and  were 
forced  to  content  themselves  with  stretching  their  countenances, 
^drawing  long  sighs,  and  deploring  "  the  condition  of  the  counfri/." 
The  knowledge  of  the  ftict  that  the  whole  North,  with  its  superior 
population  and  wealth,  was  a  unit  in 'defense  of  the.  Union;  that 
Southern  Indiana  and  Illinois  would  not  ^^  secede"  and  go  with  the 
rattlesnake  government;  that  not  a  corporal's  guard  of  men  could 
be  found  in  any  Northern  State  who  would  fight  under  any  other 
than  the  old  ting;  that  many  hitherto  staunch  Knights  in  the 
North  were  withdrawing  from  their  castles,  some  of  them  even 
enlisting  in  the  United  Stales  service,  and  that,  consequently,  they 
had  been  most  grossh''  deceived  respecting  the  status  of  Northern 
afiairs — I  say,  a  consciousness  of  these  facts  did  more  to  retard 
the  progress  of  rebellion  than  anything  else  for  the  time.  A  vigor- 
ous attempt  would  have  been  immediately  made  after  the  battle 
at  Sumter  to  capture  the  United  States'  Capital  but  4ot  the  said 
reverse  the  cause  of  disunion  had  met  with  in  the  great  North. 
But  the  chagrin  experienced  in  consequence  of  their  unexpected 
disappointment  in  the  Free  States,  only  nerved  the  K.  G.  C.  to 
more  powerful  efforts  in  the  South,  Castles  were  built  up  at  every 
little  town  and  cross-roads  where  one  dozen  of  the  faithful  could 
be  mustered.  In  every  locality  where  they  had  the  majority,  and 
even  in  some  instances  where  they  were  in  the  minority,  the  gag- 
law  was  brutishly  enforced  by  mob  suasion.  Wherever  they  had 
the  power  to  carry  forward  their  designs  in  the  Border  Slave 
States,  they  were  to  denounce,  in  the  bitter6st  terms,  every  man 
who  would  not  work  in  concert  with  them.  Men,  whether  natives 
of  North  or  South,  who  opposed  them,  were  to  be  dealt  with  as 
traitors.  I  saw  a  man  ordered  to  leave  a  little  town  on  the  Ken- 
tucky shore,  in  half  an  hour's  time,  or  remain  and  be  hung, 
although  he  had  been  born  and  reared  in  the  place.  In  short, 
all  the  "coercive"  appliances  were  to  bo  used  in  Border  States 
which  had  been  so  successful  in  the  seceded  States.  But  one  very 
serious  obstacle  in  the  path  of  their  progress  was  the  strong  and 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  45 

decided  stand  which  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  influential  of 
their  own  statesmen  were  taking  in  favor  of  the  Union.  Such 
men  as  Prentice,  Harney,  Guthrie,  Dixon,  Brownlow,  Johnson, 
Nelson,  and  others  of  that  class,  stood  greatly  in  their  way.  These 
were,  men  to  be  feared  far  more  than  Northern  foes,  for  their 
talents,  and  influence  in  the  South,  being  commensurate  with  their 
patriotism,  their  blows  at  the  snake  of  secession  were  powerful 
and  effective.  All  hail  to  those  patriotic  giants  who,  even  yet, 
with  their  love  of  country  undimmed  by  the  sulphurous  smoke  of 
the  despotic  hell  by  which  they  are  surrounded  on.  every  hand, 
dare  to  unsheath  their  claymores  and  wield  them  in  defense  of 
that  government  to  which  they  have  ever  stood  devoted.  In  order 
to  the  rapid  propulsion  of  the  secession  car,  such  men  as  the  afore- 
mentioned were  either  to  be  persuaded  off  the  track,  or  run  over. 
In  other  words,  if  it  was  found  impossible  to  win  them  oyer  to 
secession,  they  were  to  be  made  way  with.  In  castle  numerous 
plans  were  proposed  to  eflect  these  designs.  Brownlow  and  John- 
son they  did  not  hope  to  convert  to  their  faith ;  consequently  they 
•  were  to  have  their  ''lights  put  out."  But  it  was  thought  that  pos- 
sibly, by  getting  up  a  strong  outside  pressure,  such  as  Prentice 
and  Guthrie  might  be  induced  to  recant.  In  fact,  there  were 
scores  of  Knights  who,  notwithstanding  their  new-born  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  the  devil,  still  loved  Prentice.  He  had  been  their  great 
guide  when  they  were  old  Whigs;  he  had,  for  many  years,  led  them 
in  his  own  channel  of  political  philosophy;  he  had,  from  their 
earliest  recollections,  invigorated  them  with  his  wit  and  inspired 
them  with  his  poetry.  In  short,  he  had  been  the  monarch  of  their 
souls,  the  idol  of  their  affections;  and  it  was  no  ordinary  punish- 
ment to  them  to  be  forced  to  part  with  him  now.  They  were, 
therefore,  willing  to  extend  to  him  more  than  ordinary  lenity, 
sincerely  hoping  that  in  time  he  Avould  see  the  "  error  of  his 
ways,"  and  repent  in  "sack  cloth  and  ashes."  They  also  pre- 
sumed that  Prentice,  once  fairly  on  the  side  of  disunion,  and 
Kentucky  was  out  in  a  hurry.  But  for  others,  for  whom  they 
lacked  the  affection  they  bore  Prentice,  and  who,  they  apprehended, 
could  never,  by  any  influence,  be  induced  to  desert  the  old  ship, 
they  had  in  store  a  vigorous  treatment.  Various  plans  were  pro- 
posed in  castle  to  get  what  were  termed  the  hard-shells  out  of  the 
way.  Some  of  them  were  to  be  insulted,  and,  by  that  means,  drawn 
into  a  fight,  which  was  to  terminate  in  their  murder.  Others  were 
to  be  poisoned,  or  assassinated.  No  act  was  to  be  considered 
criminal  which  had  for  its  object  the  destruction  of  "  Abolition- 
ists." I  heard  one  man  say  in  Kentucky,  that  he  could  cut  Arch 
Dixon's  throat  with  more  pleasure  than  he  could  eat  his  dinner 
when  hungry.  At  the  time  I  left  the  latter-named  state,  I  fully 
expected,  from  what  I  had  seen  and  heard  in  castle  and  out,  that 
several  of  her  best  statesmen  would  have  been  foully  dealt  with 
ere  this.     They  were,  however,  put  on  their  guard,  to  my  knowl- 


46  EXPOSITION  OF   TEE 

edge,  and  that,  together  with  the  great  reaction  which  has  taken 
place  in  many  parts  of  Kentucky,  has,  doubtless,  prevented  the 
commission  of  some  of  the  blackest  crimes  ever  recorded. 

The  extent  to  which  dark  and  villainous  intriguery  is  being 
practiced  by  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  or,  as  they  should 
be  termed,  The  Imps  of  Hell^  at  this  time,  has  rarely  ever  been 
equaled  ''n  the  annals  of  highway  robbery.  The  very  manner  is 
which  they  make  proselytes  is  in  itself  more  damnable  than  any 
thinf^  which  even  that  old  serpent,  the  devil,  has  ever  invented. 
For  instance,  a  man  comes  into  town  from  the  farming  districts. 
He  is  immediately  beset  on  all  sides,  and  questioned  respecting 
hie  politics,  etc.,  in  the  following  manner :  "  Sir,  are  30U  a  Southern 
Rights'  man?"  "Well,  yes,  I  believe  I  go  in  for  the  rights  of  the 
South."     "  Well,  there  are  one  or  two  gentlemen  up  here  at  the 

corner,  Mr.  and   Dr.  ,  who   desire   to   see  you   a   few 

minutes.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  go  with  us?"  "Certainly." 
They  proceed  to  the  "corner''  spoken  of,  when  the  "gentlemen" 
alluded  to  come  forward,  take  the  farmer  by  the  hand,  greeting  him 
very  warmly,  and  ask  him  if  he  would  not  like  to  co-operate  with 
tliem  in  a  plan  to  defend  the  "homes  and  firesides"  of  himself 
and  neighbors  against  "  Yankee  invasion."  "  Why,  are  they  going 
to  invade   ws?"     "Yes,   certainly.     We    have  it,   upon  reliable 

authority,  that  several  hundred  of  the  d d  Hoosiers  are  within 

a  few  hours'  march  of  this  place."  l^y  this  time  the  old  man's 
eyes  begin  to  stand  out  so  plumply  from  their  orbits,  tliatin  passing 
too  near  a  brush  fence  there  would  be  danger  of  him  losing  them; 
and  with  his  jugulars  protruding  like  ropes  from  either  side  of  his 
neck,  and  his  mouth  tlirown  wide  open,  he  fairly  belches  out  the 
indignant  interrogatory:  ''What  Hoosieks?"  "Why,  some  of 
those  Abolition  Hoosiers  from  Pike,  and  Posey,  and  Gibson 
counties,  with  a  large  number  from  the  Yankee  portion  of  the 
state  up  about  the  lakes.  You  know  those  Abolitionists  in  Pike, 
who  have  always  been  in  the  habit  of  hiding  our  niggers  when  they 
ran  up  about  Petersburg,  do  n't  you  ?  "  "  Ye-es,  I  have  often  heard 
of  them."  "  Well,  they  are  at  the  head  of  the  gang."  "  Well,  I  want 
it  distinctly  understood  that  I  am  in  all  over  for  any  plan  intended 
to  check  or  punish  them."  The  old  gentleman  is  now  asked  to  take 
a  glass  of  Bourbon — a  request  with  which  every  Kentuckian  will- 
ingly complies — and  go  "up  stairs"  with  them.  On  arriving  "  up 
stairs"  he  meets  several,  perhaps  a  coupleofdozen.of  the  "chivalry," 
by  whom  he  is  surrounded  and  warmly  welcomed.  He  is  now  led 
into  an  ante-room  and  requested  to  be  seated  until  castle  is  opened. 
Castle  being  opened,  fifteen — if  they  have  that  number  present — 
of  the  Knights  proceed  to  the  ante-room,  form  a  crescent-shaped 
circle,  from  the  center  of  which  the  captain  and  lieutenant  step 
forward  a  little  in  front,  when  the  old  gentleman  is  led  by  the 
conductor  in  front,  facing  the  aforementioned  otiicers,  and  asked, 
by  tlie  chief  Knight;  if  "  he  has  any  objection  to  entering  an  Order 


48  EXPOSITIOX    OF    THE 

which,  Avhile  it  will  not  interfere  with  his  religious  sentiments  nor 
political  views,  has  for  its  main  object  the  maintenance  of  Southern 
rights  and  the  protection  of  Southern  homes."  lie  roplies  in  the 
negative.  He  is  then  a.sked  if  he  is  willing  to  bind  himself  in  an 
oath  to  aid  and  assist  them  in  the  furtherance  of  these  objects. 
He  "answers  in  the  affirmative.  He  has  now  passed  what  is  termed 
the  first  of  the  '"preliminary  degrees,"  and  is  welcomed  to  the 
circle  by  a  general  shake-hands.  The  officers  and  the  circle  retire, 
while  some  one  of  the  faithful  remains  outside  to  talk  to  him  of  the 
grandeur,  the  beauties,  and  the  sublime  and  holy  objects  of  the 
Order.  Presently  a  rap  is  heard  at  the  door  of  the  antechamber, 
and  the  question  is  asked  by  the  guard  :  "  Who  comes  ?  "  To  which 
the  lieutenant  replies  :  "  The  friends  of  Southern  rights,  to  welcome 
a  brother."  The  door  is  then  opened,  and  the  circle  again  appears, 
the  lieutenant  bearing  in  his  left  hand  a  large  crescent  with 
fifteen  stars  set  in  its  sides.  Old  gentleman  is  again  brought  up 
facing  the  captain  and  lieutenant,  who  are  stationed  in  the  front 
^of  the  circle  as  before.  The  chief  now  enters  into  a  somewhat 
elaborate  explanation  of  the  reasons  why  they  conduct  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Order  in  a  secret  manner;  among  other  things, 
telling  the  candidate  that  such  a  manner  of  proceeding  is 
necessary  to  concert  and  unity,  which  are  the  two  first  indis- 
pensables  to  success ;  and  also  that  such  a  course  is  calculated 
to  promote  a  fraternal  and  brotherly  feeling  among  them;  that 
the  experience  of  the  world  has  taught  us  that  secret  organizations 
are  far  more  effective  than  public  ones,  the  prejudice  of  many 
good  people  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

These  explanations  having  been  made,  candidate  is  asked  if 
he  is  now  willing  to  take  an  oath  that  he  will  never  reveal  anything 
he  may  see  or  hear  during  his  initiation.  He  replies  in  the  affir- 
mative. The  oath  is  now  administered;  and  being  farther  sworn 
to  stand  devoted  to  the  cause  and  fortune  of  the  South,  he  is  con- 
sidered through  the  second  of  the  "  preliminary  "  degrees.  Circle 
with  officers  retire,  the  requisite  preparations  are  made  in  the 
arrangement  of  symbols,  etc.,  and  castle  is  ready  to  receive  can- 
didate into  the  hall.  At  the  proper  signal  he  is  led  by  conductor 
from  the  ante-chamber  into  castle,  where  he  is  again  met  by  the 
circle,  as  in  the  last-named  instance.  Candidate  is  now  to  swear, 
in  the  presence  of  "God  and  these  witnesses,"  {it  should  he  in  the 
presence  of  the  devil  and  his  imps,)  that  he  "will  aid  and  assist, 
to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  in  promoting  a  permanent  separation 
of  all  the  Southern  from  the  Northern  States,"  and  that  he  will, 
"both  individually,  and  in  concert  with  the  brethren  composing 
this  Order,  use  his  utmost  efforts  to  ferret  out,  punish,  and  expel 
from  Southern  borders,  all  who,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  favor 
the  enemies  of  Southern  rights."  Having  given  his  assent  to  this, 
he  is  considered  through  the  third  and  last  of  the  "preliminary" 
degrees.      Candidate  is  again  conducted  to  ante-chamber,  when 


KNIGHTS   OF  THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  49 

castle  makes  full  preparations  for  receiving;  him  into  Outer  Temple, 
These  having  been  effected,  initiate  is  again  led  into  the  hall,  and 
received  into  the  embrace  of  the  circle  as  before.  Circle  now 
incloses  him  by  forming  a  complete  ring,  w^hen  the  chief  an- 
nounces to  him,  in  the  most  solemn  and  dignified  manner,  that 
"  he  is  now  a  Knight  of  the  Golden  Circle."  This  is  positively  the 
first  time  he  hears  his  name,  and,  in  some  instances,  it  makes  him, 
as  the  Hoosicrs  say,  "  look  wild."  He  is  now  sworn  to  regard  liis 
duty  to  his  state  and  his  state  authorities,  and  his  home  and  do- 
mestic interests  as  "  paramount  to  his  duty  to  the  United  States 
Constitution  and  all  other  human  enactments."  The  pass-word, 
which  is  changed  every  three  months,  or  oftener,  if  it  is  necessary 
to  prevent  impositions,  is  then  given  him,  together  with  the  signs 
of  the  Order,  and  he  is,  in  all  respects,  a  member  of  the  Outer 

Temple  of  the ■ — -  Castle  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle. 

It  will  be  observed  that  some  insignificant  changes  have  been 
made  in  the  ritual  within  the  last  few  months,  by  comparing  the 
foregoing  initiation  with  what  has  been  said,  in  previous  pages,  of 
the  form  of  receiving  members  one  year  or  less  ago.  Just  here 
I  will  remark  that  with  the  K.  G.  C.  the  ritual  is  by  no  meana 
as  permanent  or  unalterable  as  that  of  most  other  secret  orders; 
and,  in  fact,  nearly  every  castle  is  in  the  habit  of  modifying  this 
instrument  to  suit  the  "peculiar"  demands  of  the  immediate 
locality  in  which  it  is  intended  to  be  used.  For  instance,  in  Ken- 
tucky and  other  Border  States,  in  latter  days,  the  various  initiatory 
steps  to  the  Inner  Temple  are  much  more  gradual  and  conservative 
than  they  are  in  the  Cotton  States;  and,  in  many  cases,  where 
it  is  known  that  the  candidate  is  a  more  than  usually  moral  man, 
and  somewhat  sensitive  respecting  oaths,  the  chief  has  the  privi- 
lege of  laying  aside  the  ritual  for  the  most  part,  and  tolling  the 
applicant  in  on  his  own  hook.  But  the  supposed  case  just  cited 
unfolds  the  general  plan,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  most  flagrant 
misrepresentations,  and  the  most  unscrupulous  lying  are  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  making  additions.  An  honestly  disposed 
man  is  picked  up  in  the  street,  and  is  hardly  aware  of  it  before  he 
has  taken  the  most  binding  oaths  to  violate  the  constitution  of  his 
country,  trample  the  United  States  laws  under  his  feet,  and  assist, 
with  his  whole  power,  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  most  treasonable 
and  diabolical  crimes  against  the  government  and  its  supporters. 
But  80  far  as  the  government  and  formal  regulations  of  the  castles 
are  concerned,  they  are  of  very  little  importance  within  themselves. 
It  is  the  outside  designs  of  the  Order  at  this  time,  and  the  various 
plans  adopted,  from  time  to  time,  to  prosecute  them,  that  should 
receive  most  attention,  inasmuch  as  they  threaten  not  only  the 
subsequent  ruin  and  destruction,  of  the  American  Republic,  but 
menace  the  happiness  and  well-being  of  every  neighborhood  and 
family  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  especially  those  of  tha 
western  Border  States. 


•SO  EXPOSITION    OF    THE 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  a  systematic  exposition  of  these  Je- 
Bigns,  and  their  modes  of  prosecution,  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  obtain 
a  direct  knowledge  of  them  up  to  the  time  I  left  the  South,  im- 
mediately after  the  fall  of  Sumter.  In  the  first  place,  in  order  to 
drag  the  Border  Slave  States  out  of  the  Union,  it  is  determined 
upon  to  either  "  coerce "  the  State  Legislatures  into  the  calling 
of  conventions  for  the  passage  of  secession  ordinances,  or  call  one 
themselves,  through  the  Governor  or  otherwise.  Jn  the  second 
place,  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  such  conventions  they  are 
bound  to  have  their  own  kind  of  men  chosen  by  the  use  of  the 
following  appliances:  First,  Large  numbers  of  Knights  from 
adjoining  states  are  to  be  imported,  armed,  and  prepared  for  any 
emergency.  These  are  to  attend  the  elections,  and,  if  they  can  not 
succeed  in  casting  their  own  illegal  votes,  arc  to  stand  around  the 
polls,  and  by  curses,  threats,  and  even  violence,  if  necessary,  foroo 
weak-spined  Union  men  to  vote  the  Secession  ticket.  Second, 
•Knights  of  the  Inner  Temple  are,  if  possible,  to  be  chosen  as 
tellers  and  clerks  of  the  various  precincts  at  the  day  of  election. 
Third,  Between  the  time  of  the  announcement  and  the  holding  of 
said  election,  all,  or  at  least  as  many  as  possible,  of  those  who  are 
known  to  be  staunch,  immovable  Union  men,  are  to  be  driven  out 
of  their  state,  detained  from  the  election,  either  by  stratagem  or  force, 
or  made  way  with.  Nothing  but  the  overawing  influence  of  vastly 
superior  numbers  of  resolute  Union  men,  or  the  presence  of  United 
States  soldiery,  can  prevent  the  carrying  out  of  this  part  of  the 
programme.  After  the  submission  of  the  ordinance  to  the  popular 
vote  by  the  convention,  the  same  means  are  to  be  used  in  further- 
ance of  its  adoption  as  those  applied  in  the  previous  election. 

In  the  second  place,  after  they  have  succeeded  in  gettin^^  out 
of  the  Union,  they  intend  having  committees,  to  be  called  "  Knights' 
Safety  Guards,"  appointed,  to  watch  every  man  of  whom  they  nave 
the  least  doubt,  and  whether  native  of  North  or  South,  if  any  hold 
can  be  gained  upon  him,  he  is  to  be  dealt  with  in  any  way  the 
''Guards''  may  see  proper.  They  need  not  bring  such  person 
before  the  proper  authorities  for  a  formal  trial,  but  may  barrel 
him  up  and  throw  him  into  a  river,  tar  and  feather  him,  and  Srcnd 
him  North,  shoot,  hang,  or  deal  with  him  otherwise,  as  their 
"judgments"  may  dictate.  Thirdly,  guerrilla  parties  are  to  be 
formed,  both  to  harrass  Northern  troops  on  their  passage  through 
their  sections,  and  to  make  devastating  forays  upon  the  North. 
'These  are  called,  in  castle,  "Knights  Gallant."  Their  mission 
is  wherever  they  wish  to  go,  and  their  license  to  take  what  they 
can,  and  do  what  they  please,  except  to  injure  or  violate  females 
or  little  children.  "  Knights  Gallant  "  are  sworn  to  protect 
female  virtue  and  children's  lives,  even  at  the  peril  of  their  own. 
By  the  "Knights  Gallant"  provisions  are  to  be  scoured  from 
Northwestern  States,  in  case  of  a  scarcity  in  the  South,  for  the 
Southern   army.     All  the  property  or  money   they   can   obtain 


KNIGHTS   OF  THE   GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  51 

in  the  course  of  their  perambulations  is  to  be  considered  as 
Southern  wealth.  When  Southern  armies  desire  to  march  Xorth- 
vrard,  the  services  of  the  K  G.  are  to  be  secured  as  guides  and 
scouts.  A  continual  correspondence  is  to  be  kept  up  with  the 
known  and  tried  Knights  of  the  North,  so  as  to  assist  the  K.  G., 
either  in  making  forays  or  conducting  forces;  to  secure  such 
knowledge  of  those  points  where  provisions,  stores,  prizes,  etc., 
may  be  taken  with  most  ease,  as  was  necessary,  and  also  to 
ascertain  by  what  routes  such  provisions  and  stores  can  be  most 
easily  conveyed  to  Southern  borders.  Fourthly,  the  true  and 
faithful  members  of  the  Order  living  in  the  Northern  States  are 
to  play  the 'hypocrite  on  a  most  extensive  scale,  by  making  loud 
and  enthusiastic  professions  of  loyalty  to  the  government,  while, 
in  the  mean  time,  they  are  to  act  as  spies,  communicating  to 
the  nearest  castles  the  various  movements  of  Northern  troops,  and 
the  most  accessible  routes  of  march  and  points  of  attack  for  Southern 
forces.  Fifthly,  influential  members  in  the  North  are  to  be 
induced,  if  possible,  to  raise  companies  of  militia  under  the 
requisition  of  President  Lincoln,  secure  their  arms  and  equipments, 
and  then  turn  them  over  to  the  "ConfedeiaiG"  service;  such 
companies  being  composed  of  men  who  aro  known  to  be  true 
friends  of  the  South.  Just  here  I  will  drop  a  hint  to  the  friends 
of  American  freedom.  No  man  in  the  North  who  expressed 
sympathy  with  the  South,  or  who  violently  opposed  the  movements 
of  the  Government,  until  the  overwhelming  force  of  public  opinion 
drove  him  into  the  Union  ranks,  should  be  trusted  icith  any  patriotic 
duty,  or  allowed  to  command  even  a  corporal's  guard  of  men,  until 
he  has  furnished  the  most  reliable  evidence  of  loyalty ;  and,  in  many 
instances,  xohere  there  is  good  reason  to  presume,  from  a  maris  past 
acts,  that  his  feelings  are  strongly  Southern,  or  thai  he  is  not  fully 
trustworthy,  even  though  from  the  first  that  he  heard  of  the 
President' s  Proclamation  calling  for  troops  he  has  made  strong 
Union  professions,  it  is  highly  important  to  keep  a  close  watch 
over  him,  and  see  that  he  gains  no  advantage.  I  have,  as  yet, 
heard  of  but  one  place  in  any  Northern  state  where  any  portion 
of  that  part  of  the  Knights'  programme  under  head  fifth  has 
been  commenced,  and  that  was  in  Martin  County,  Indiana.  The 
man  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  movement  is  named  Drongoole. 
(The  Cincinnati  papers  call  him,  improperly,  Dromgoole. )  This  imp, 
whom  the  devil  will,  doubtless,  be  ashamed  to  own,  but  who,  in 
all  probability,  will  soon  resemble  the  famous  violinist,  Paginini. 
in  one  respect,  viz. :  his  capacity  to  play  on  "  one  string,"  wrote 
to  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Nashville  Castle,  where  he 
holds  his  membership,  informing  said  secretary,  that  he  could 
easily  raise  a  regiment  of  one  thousand  men  in  Martin  County  to 
fight  for  the  South.  The  secretary  replied,  advising  him  to  imme- 
diately communicate  the  glad  tidings  to  Jeff  Davis,  as  the  case 
would  be  readily  attended  to.     Drongoole  did  write  Jeff,  giving 


9e  EXPOSTTION   OF  THB 

him  the  '''most  saihfaciory''  evidences  of  his  ability  to  master  the 
aforementioned  regiment  into  the  "Confederate  service."  Jeff 
replied,  commending  his  "true  and  faithful"  servant  very  highly 
for  his  "noble  and  patriotic"  endeavors;  but,  for  one  time  in  his 
life,  at  least,  seemed  to  have  been  remiss  in  the  exercise  of  those 
*^ far-seeing''  qualities  for  which  his  confederates  give  him  so 
much  credit,  in  inclosing  his  letter  in  an  envelope  bearing  the 
Confederate  flag  on  its  exterior. 

The  recognition  of  this  emblem  by  the  postmaster  at  Dover  Hill 
resulted  in  the  opening  and  reading  of  Jeff's  epistle,  the  contents  of 
which  soon  becoming  public,  so  highly  excited  the  "Confederate" 
patriotism  of  the  citizens  of  Martin  county,  that  they  could  not 
refrain  from  manifesting  their  otherwise  inexpressible  approbation 
of  the  noble  Drongoole  and  his  course,  by  means  of  fervent,  patri- 
otic kicks  and  blows,  so  well  laid  on  that  he  came  near  yielding 
up  the  ghost.  Drongoole,  whether  from  the  advice  of  his  physi- 
cian or  not,  concluded  that  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  travel 
South  a  little  for  his  health,  before  undertaking  to  lead  a  regi- 
ment of  Martin  county  Hoosiers  against  "Lincoln's  army." 

But  if  he  had  not  been  detected  in  good  time  he  would  have 
effected  much  harm.  There  are  others,  who  are  far  less  suspected 
than  he  was,  of  whom  we  may  expect  more  real  harm.  While 
passing  through  Sullivan  county,  on  my  way  to  Indianapolis, 
a  certain  gentleman  residing  in  that  county,  told  me,  privately, 
that  he  intended  raising  a  company  of  one  hundred  men  to 
fight  for  Jeff  Davis;  at  least  he  would  make  the  attempt.  He  also 
told  me  that  if  Davis  was  to  march  an  army  through  his  neigh- 
borhood on  that  very  day,  devastating  the  country  as  he  went, 
that  he,  with  many  more,  would  join  him.  This  gentleman  Avaa 
not  a  member  of  the  K.  G.  C,  but  had  been  under  the  special 
influence  and  teachings  of  one  who  lived  in  his  immediate  neigh- 
borhood; he  had  not  yet  caught  the  signal  of  silence,  and  was. 
therefore,  openly  expressing  his  imbibed  sentiments.  I  talked 
with  hi'm  shortly  afterward,  and  he  had,  to  all  appearance,  under 
gone  a  most  wonderful  and  miraculous  conversion.  He  was  now 
a  strong  Union  man,  and  a  bitter  enemy  to  Jeff  Davis.  This 
apparently  remarkable  change  I  could  easily  account  for,  when  I 
had  seen  him,  in  the  interim  between  the  first  and  last  conver- 
sations, talking  with  a  certain  individual  who  recognized  the  sign 
of  the  crescent.  By  some  close  maneuverings,  I  found  that  the 
last-mentioned  individual  had  several  proseltyes  in  and  around 
his  neighborhood,  and  that  it  was  the  intention  of  these  to  form 
a  "  Home  Guards"  to  act  in  "  emergencies^  They  could  not,  how- 
ever, be  induced,  by  a  certain  gentleman  who  was  then  enrolling 
a  company  for  Government  service,  to  go  from  homo  to  fight  the 
battles  of  the  country,  although  several  of  them  were  stout  young 
men,  foot-loose,  and  unemployed. 

Mysteries  of  this  kind  require  some  explanation,  and  whererer 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CmCLB.  53 

tiiey  appear,  ehould  undergo  the  closest  scrutiny.  A  close  dis- 
cerner  of  men  and  things  can  generally  detect  treachery,  where 
it  exists,  in  a  man's  motions  and  the  expressions  of  his  eye,  what- 
ever his  lip  pretensions  may  be ;  and  in  times  such  as  these  it 
is  well,  yea,  even  highly  important,  to  exercise  a  most  vigilant 
watch  over  all  a  man's  little  actions,  where  there  is  any  just  foun- 
dation for  doubt. 

But  to  the  sixth  plan  in  the  secession  programme  of  to-day.* 
This  plan  is  to  be  carried  out  by  sending  such  of  the  patriotic 
Confederate  ladies  as  will  come,  into  the  Northern  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  acting  as  corresponding  agents  and  spies.  While 
making  pretensions  that  they  are  Southern  refugees,  and  that 
they  have  been  scared  away  from  their  homes  by  fears  of  negro 
insurrections,  or  that  they  are  come  North  to  improve  their  health 
and  enjoy  tranquillity  of  mind,  they  are  to  be  constantly  on  the 
alert  for  news  respecting  the  designs  of  the  Government  or  the 
movements  of  armies,  and  transmit  the  same  to  the  proper  author- 
ities in  the  South.  Further,  they  are  to  act,  wherever  it  is  pos- 
sible to  do  so,  in  tlie  capacity  of  beasts  of  burden,  (I  do  not  use 
this  term  disparagingly,)  to  convey  contrabrand  articles  to  such 
aircnts  or  places  as  shall  insure  their  safe  delivery  to  the  seces- 
sionists. This  may  seem  highly  improbable  to  many,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  by  all  that  a  woman  is  decidedly  a  great  insii- 
tution,  and  that  by  means  of  such  efficient  and  extensive  modern 
facilities  as  crinoline,  etc.,  she  could  effect  considerable  in  the 
way  of  exporting  small  arms,  percussion  caps,  etc. 

In  the  present  troubled  condition  of  the  country,  the  good  cit- 
izens of  the  loyal  states  will  experience  no  little  difficulty  in 
determining  who  is  a  spy  and  who  is  not,  especially  in  the  case 
of  ladies;  because  there  will  be  many  fleeing  to  the  North  as  real 
refugees;  many  who,  in  consequence  of  the  miserable  days  and 
fearful,  sleepless  nights  they  have  spent  during  long  and  gloomy 
weeks,  will  saorifice  home,  with  all  its  former  endearments,  for 
the  sake  of  finding  a  place  where  they  may  rest  their  wearied 
frames  and  compose  their  excited  minds.  But  while  it  is  true 
that  many  truly  noble  and  excellent  women  will  seek  the  North 
for  these  purposes,  and  those  alone,  it  is  also  true  that  some,  at 
least,  will  come  for  far  different  purposes.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
necessary  to  be  hospitable,  while  we  are  nrudent;  kind  and  sym- 
pathetic, while  we  are  vigilant  and  watchful. 

Finally,  it  is  the  intention  of  the  K.  G.  C.  to  send  incendiary 
agents — men  who  scruplei  at  nothing,  care  for  nothing — for  the 
purpose  of  committing  raids,  destroying  property,  etc.,  wherever 
euch  service  can  in  any  way  facilitate  the  cause  of  secession. 
For  instance :  When  an  army,  or  any  considerable  number  of 
troops,  are  rendezvousing  at  a  determinate  point  on  the  border, 

♦April  20,  18G1. 


54  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

and  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  any 
Confederate  design,  to  hare  them  removed,  these  incendiary  agenta 
are  to  set  fire  to  some  town  or  city  near  by,  in  order  that  the 
Government  forces  may  be  attracted  from  their  post.  Thus  it  was 
planned  to  burn  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Cincinnati, 
just  after  the  battle  at  Fort  Sumter,  to  the  end  that  the  United 
States  troops  might  be  called  away  from  Washington,  and  its  cap- 
ture thereby  rendered  easy.  None  but  Knights  of  the  Inner 
Temple  are  intrusted  with  this  kind  of  work.  They  must  be,  at 
the  same  time,  shrewd,  active,  bold,  and  faithful.  Wonderful  to 
say,  some  of  the  very  agents  who  were  to  burn  the  cities  just 
referred  to,  were  not  only  residents  of  the  places  they  intended 
to  burn,  but  actually  owned  property  in  them.  This,  however,  was 
to  be  ^^indejnnijied"  by  the  Cotton  Confederacy. 

Nothing  but  the  unanimous  uprising  of  the  loyal  masses  of  the 
North,  the  exercise  of  an  unexpected  vigilance,  and  an  unceasing 
watch-care,  saved  those  cities.  The  great  trouble  here,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  female  spies,  is  to  know  whom  to  watch,  inasmuch  as 
all  of  them  make  loud  professions  of  loyalty  so  soon  as  they  set 
foot  on  Northern  soil.  The  true  police/  is  to  watch  everybody  with 
whom  we  are  unacquainted^  until  we  have  the  most  satisfactory 
evidence  that  they  are  true.  In  point  of  close  scrutiny  and  vigi- 
lance, we  of  the  North  are  far  behind  the  Southern  people.  No 
sooner  does  a  stranger  arrive  at  any  Southern  town  or  depot,  than 
he  is  beset  on  all  sides  by  "  Knights'  Safety  Guards,"  or,  as  they 
are  called  by  the  outsiders,  Vigilance  Committees,  who  proceed 
immediately  to  quiz  him  in  the  most  abrupt  and  complicated 
manner.  lie  is  examined  and  cross-examined  in  various  ways, 
until  the  "chivalry"  are  thoroughly  satisfied;  he  must  reply  to 
their  questions  in  the  most  direct  and  unequivocal  manner;  he  is 
allowed  no  room  for  dodges  or  evasions,  but  must  come  rif^ht  up 
to  the  mark;  and  even  after  he  has  answered  all  questions  in  the 
most  explicit  and  satisfactory  manner,  is  still  an  object  of  sus- 
picion and  scrutiny.  We,  on  the  other  hand,  are  exceedingly 
mild  in  our  demands,  careless,  indifi'erent,  and  lenient;  take  it  for 
granted  that  a  man  is  loyal  merely  because  he  says  he  is,  and 
frequently  allow  him  even  to  talk  treason,  thinking  that  it  do  n't 
amount  to  much,  inasmuch  as  the  Union  sentiment  is  "so  strong." 
I  have  heard  men  say  things  in  Terre  Haute  and  Indianapolis, 
in  public  places,  for  which,  if  we  were  half  so  vigilant  as  the 
K.  S.  G.  in  the  South,  we  would  hang  them  to  the  nearest  tree  wo 
could  find.  Now,  I  do  not  propose  that  we  should  adopt  the  brutal, 
merciless  system  of  the  Knights,  but  that,  in  view  of  the  real  de- 
mands of  the  country,  and  the  safety  of  our  neighborhoods,  fami- 
lies, and  persons,  we  should  see  to  it,  and  see  to  it  wellj  that  no 
man,  whether  neighbor  or  stranger,  has  an  opportunity  to  do  or 
Bay  any  harm. 


KNIGHTS  OF  THB  GOLDEN  CIROLR  55 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  North  too  confident — the  Southern  strength  underrated 

THE  extent  of  THE   BrOTHERHOOD  AT   THE  NoRTH,  AND   IN  THE 

Border  States — Kentucky's  Neutrality — the  "State  Guard" 
controlled  by  the  k.  g.  c. — the  governojt  of  kentucky  a 
Knight — the  War  •of  1S61 — Justice  unknown  to  the  Traitor 
Fraternity — the  Sword  the  only  argument  that  will  exact 
Justice — Vigilance  at  the  North  essential — the  feeling  at 
the  South  since  the  War  began — Negro  insurrections — Bru- 
tality OF  the  Knights — their  mode  of  carrying  on  the  War — 
what  they  intend  to  accomplish. 

I  find,  in  passing  through  Northern  towns  and  neighborhoods, 
that  the  people  are  entirely  too  confident  in  the  strong  arm  of  the 
government  and  their  own  superior  wealth  and  numbers.  They 
do  not  appear  disposed  to  make  any  deductions  in  favor  of  the 
South,  in  view  of  its  more  extensive  and  complex  strategic  system; 
and,  in  many  instances,  when  I  have  told  them  of  the  many 
destructive  secret  plans  of  the  secessionists,  they  seemed  loth  to 
believe  the  statement;  it  appeared  to  them  impossible  that  the 
Southern  traitors  should  hare  become  "  so  grossly  depraved."  Jt  is 
wonderful.,  indeed,  that  the  same  robbers  who  coolly  pocketed 
thousands  of  dollars  of  our  money  and  appropriated  it  to  the 
rebellious  government,  and  who  stole  nearly  three  thousand  stand 
of  our  arms,  and  sent  our  army  and  navy  so  far  out  of  reach  that 
we  could  not  avail  ourselves  of  their  services  in  time  of  danger, 
should  subsequently  plot  the  destruction  of  our  towns  and  cities, 
and  the  confiscation  and  appropriation  of  our  property.  Whether 
my  exposition  of  the  thieving,  murderous,  destructive  schemes  of 
the  Confederate  rebels  is  believed  or  not,  they  will,  before  the  lapse 
of  many  months,  become  so  fully  manifest,  that  even  the  most  in- 
credulous will  be  forced  to  acknowledge  that  what  I  have  said  is 
true.  But  I  sincerely  trust  that  the  honest  warnings  of  one  who 
has  repeatedly  risked  his  life  to  obtain  an  actual  knowledge  of  the 
treacherous  designs  of  the  avowed  enemies  to  American  freedom, 
may  not  pass  unheeded.  I  earnestly  hope  that  those  who  have 
the  direction  of  affairs,  as  well  as  private  individuals,  will  keep 
constantly  before  their  minds  the  following  facts:  First.  That 
the  present  deplorable  condition  of  the  country  has  been  brought 
about  by  the  continuous  workings  of  that  same  diabolical  clique 
who  began  a  regular  system  of  slave  piracy  thirty  3-ears  ago. 
Second.  That  the  whole  course  of  that  clique,  from  the  first  period 
of  its  history  to  the  present  day,  has  been  one  of  unexampled 


W  EacposinoN  of  the 

rillan^  and  enmity  toward  the  Federal  Government.  Third. 
That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  have,  from  the  beginning,  been 
duly  conscious  of  the  unjustifiabieness  of  their  course,  the  treach- 
ery of  their  designs,  and  the  deficiency  of  their  resources,  they 
will  not,  cannot,  place  the  least  reliance  in  the  use  of  fair  and 
honorable  means.  Fourth.  That  the  recent  developments  at  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Cairo,  justify  us  in  the  worst  apprehen- 
sions. And  finally,  that  it  is  always  well,  in  times  such  as  these, 
to  be  fully  prepared  for  every  contingency;  that  it  is  impossible 
to  be  too  careful  of  ourselves,  or  too  watchful  of  those  who  are 
our  sworn  enemies. 

While  in  the  South,  I  wrote  several  letters  to  the  New  York, 
Boston,  and  Philadelphia  press,  and  also  to  the  Cincinnati  papers, 
incog.,  giving  them  timely  warning  of  the  imminent  peril  of  those 
cities.  Whether  they  Avere  all  received  and  published,  I  do  not 
know;  but  certain  I  am  that  some  of  them  were,  and  that,  in  all 
probability  they  were,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  means  of 
saving  those  town  from  destruction.  1  would  also  have  written  to 
Cairo,  but  that  at  that  time  1  did  not  know  who  to  address.  I  had 
been  told,  by  prominent  Knights,  that  there  were  many  of  their 
number  in  the  latter  place,  and  all  through  Southern  Illinois.  I 
was  not,  however,  favored  with  any  of  their  names.  I  was  also 
fold  that  there  were  enough  in  Southern  Indiana  to  render  their 
Confederate  brethren  considerable  assistance.  It  was  presumed, 
at  one  time,  that,  by  the  aid  of  these  Hoosier  and  "Egyptian" 
Knights,  the  whole  of  Southern  Indiana  and  Illinois  could  be 
made  over  to  Jeff  Davis.  In  this  wild  calculation  they  were  very 
grandly  disappointed,  as  everybody  knows.  It  need  not,  however, 
be  believed  that  there  are  none  of  the  K.  G.  C.  left  in  those  sec- 
tions, as  I  shall  now  proceed  to  show,  from  the  following  statistical 
account,  which  I  received  from  the  Corresponding  Sec.  of  Jefferson 
Castle,  Kentucky:  In  New  Albany  there  are  about  25  Knights; 
in  Madison  18;  in  Evansville  15;  in  Davies  county,  Ind.,  10;  in 
Sullivan  county,  about  30;  in  Spencer  county,  45;  in  Vincennes, 
14;  in  Washington  county,  10;  in  Gibson  county,  7;  in  Cairo, 
111.,  there  are,  or  were,  a  few  weeks  ago,  300,  and  from  100  to  200 
in  neighboring  towns ;  so  that  in  all  there  are  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  550  Knights  yet  in  Southern  Indiana  and  Illinois,  unless 
they  have  lately  migrated  or  renounced  the  faith.  The  majority 
of  them,  however,  are  not  very  dangerous  just  now  without  a 
leader,  as  they  are  of  what  is  termed  the  "small  fry."  There  was 
one  in  Evansville,  and  also  one  in  Princeton,  Ind.,  who  might  he 
feared.,  but  due  notice  of  their  characters  having  been  given  to  the 
proper  authorities  of  those  places  some  time  since,  they  have  been 
properly  attended  to,  and  will  be  prevented  from  committing  any 
overt  act.  The  way  in  which  these  resident  Knights  will  do  great 
harm  hereafter  is  in  conveying  intelligence  to  the  friends  of 
"Southern  rights"  of  the  movements  of  troops  and  the  chaocei 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   GOLDEN   eiRCLE.  57 

of  spoil  in  various  places,  which  intelligence,  in  the  future,  may 
prove  highly  important  to  the  rebels.  Some  of  them  may  aho  be 
mean  enough  to  poison  their  patriotic  neighbors,  or  do  sly  injury 
to  such  of  the  government  troops  as  they  may  be  convenient  to. 

Members  of  the  Inner  Temple  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Circle  are  to  be  scattered  all  through  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Maryland,  for  the  purpose  of  harrassing  and  injuring 
the  friends  and  soldiers  of  the  Union  in  every  way  they  can.  No 
particular  programme  is  made  out  for  them,  but  they  are  to  do 
whatever  they  can,  in  any  way,  or  by  any  means  available.  If  they 
can  use  poison  successfully,  they  will  do  it;  if  they  can,  by  false 
statements,  so  direct  the  movements  of  the  United  States  troops 
as  to  cause  them  a  loss  or  a  defeat,  they  will  do  that ;  if  they  find 
it  convenient  to  burn  a  town  or  destroy  a  bridge,  they  will  not  be 
condemned  by  their  directors  for  that  act;  if  they  can  give  the 
"Knights  Gallant"  any  sure  directions  for  the  capture  of  prizes, 
etc.,  they  will  be  highly  rewarded  ami  praised  for  that.  In  short, 
they  are  to  make  themselves  generally  useful.  But  one  thing  above 
all  others,  some  one  of  them  is  to  distinguish  himself  for,  if  he 
can,  and  that  is,  the  assassination  of  the  "Abolition"  President. 

It  matters  not  whether  Maryland  and  Kentucky  go  out  of 
the  Union  or  remain  in  it,  they  will  bo,  to  a  very  considera- 
ble extent,  occupied  by  the  worst  enemies  the  government  has. 
The  proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  such  states,  prohibiting 
the  passage  of  Confederate  troops  over  their  territory,  will  have 
about  as  much  effect  on  the  Knights  as  a  moonbeam  has  on  an 
iceberg  in  the  North  pole.  They  will  provide  ways  and  meano 
for  the  trans-movements  of  Confederate  soldiers  without  any 
knowledge  of  the  matter  ever  reaching  the  Governor.  There  are 
nearly  six  thousand  Knights  in  Kentucky,  about  three  thousand 
in  Maryland,  and  a  great  many  in  Delaware,  and  so  long  as  the 
chief  executives  of  those  states  do  not  issue  proclamations  order- 
ing the  disbanding  of  their  castles,  yea,  and  even  the  execution 
of  those  who  continue  loyal  to  the  Order,  just  so  long  will  their 
efforts  to  prevent  treasonable  acts  be  null  and  void. 

Nor  is  the  position  of  armed  neutrality  likely  to  be  assumed  by 
some  of  the  Border  States  to  be  regarded  otherwise  than  as  the 
most  dangerous  one  they  could  occupy,  for  the  following  conclu- 
sive reasons:  First.  Among  the  most  forward  of  those  who  enter 
the  "State  Guard"  will  be  the  members  of  the  Inner  Temple  of 
the  K.  G.  C.  Second.  Having  secured  the  state  arms,  no  matter 
how  much  they  swear  to  use  them  only  in  defense  of  their  state, 
they  will  readily  and  cheerfully  employ  them  in  making  night 
forays  into  Northern  borders,  in  promoting  the  passage  of  contra- 
band goods  to  secessionists,  in  guarding  and  protecting  our  ene- 
mies in  their  midst,  or  in  assisting  the  passage  of  secession  troops 
through  certain  routes  in  their  states  to  Northern  points.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  would,  in  many  instances,  render  the 


58  EXPOSITION  OF  THE 

Soathern  traitors  more  effecHve  assistance  in  the  capacity  of  neu- 
tral "  State  Guards"  than  in  any  other  they  could  serve. 

Through  many  routes  lying  across  "Western  Kentucky  secession 
forces  could  be  conv-eyed,  in  disguised  squads,  to  out-of-the-way 
places  along  the  Illinois  border  above  Cairo,  especially  Avhen  es- 
corted by  Knights  in  the  character  of  "State  Guards."  These 
trans-movements  could  be  effected  under  cover  of  the  night,  in 
utter  ignorance  of  the  Governor  of  Kentucky.  IJut  inasmuch 
as  his  Honor,  Governor  Magoffin,  is  said  to  be  himself  a  Knight 
of  the  first  magnitude,  and  inasmuch  as  his  indignant  refusal  to 
comply  with  the  demands  of  the  Government,  with  many  other  of 
his  recent  acts,  indicate  strong  sympathy,  if  not  affiliation,  with 
Jeff  Davis  <fe  Co.,  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  he  would  exert 
himself  to  the  endangering  of  his  personal  comfort  to  ascertain 
what  might  be  going  on  everywhere. 

Further,  while  an  armed  State  Guard,  largely  composed  of  Inner 
Templars,  would,  to  say  the  least,  allow  Southern  soldiers  to  pass 
over  to  Northern  borders  without  interruption,  they  would  repel, 
with  all  their  might,  a  Northern  detachment  that  might  be  in 
pursuit  of  Confederate  desperadoes.  Now,  while  it  is  true  that 
there  are  numbers  of  sworn  enemies  to  the  United  States  in  the 
Border  Slave  States,  it  is  also  true  that  there  are  many  warm  and 
devoted  friends  to  the  Union  in  those  states.  But  these  latter  will 
stand  a  very  poor  chance  against  the  secessionists,  from  the  fact 
that,  although  they  are  largely  in  the  majority,  they  know  not  how 
to  compete  with  the  Knights  in  scoundrelism.  In  latter  times,  it 
seems  that  a  minority  of  rascals  is  greatly  superior  to  a  majority 
of  honest  men.  What  villains  lack  in  numbers  and  power,  they 
more  than  make  up  in  intrigue  and  activity.  It  is  an  historical 
fact  that  pirates  can  easily  whip  double  their  number  of  honorable 
soldiers.  So  of  the  K.  G.  C.  in  the  Border  States :  they  never  fear 
of  success  in  any  of  their  undertakings  where  they  have  but  twice 
their  number  of  Union  men  to  oppose.    I  will  cite  a  case  in  point : 

In  the  town  of  Owensboro',  Kentucky,  there  was  a  large  majority 
of  Union  men  up  to  the  time  of  the  bombardment  of  Sumter;  but 
no  sooner  had  the  news  of  that  affair  reached  the  place  than  every 
Knight  in  town  seized  a  musket,  imbibed  a  pint  or  so  of  the  seces- 
sion element,  (whisky,)  and  paraded  up  and  down  the  streets, 
swearing  he  'd  "  be  d — d  if  any  man  dare  say  Union  in  that  local- 
ity." On  the  following  evening  they  called  a  secession  meeting, 
where  all  the  "good  and  tried"  gathered,  with  their  guns,  their 
pistols,  their  knives,  and,  above  all,  their  whisky.  Secession 
speeches  were  made,  cheers  for  Jeff  &  Co.  were  given,  groans  and 
curses  for  Lincoln  and  the  "Abolition"  government.  A  Union 
man  could  not  find  room  to  breathe  freely.  Finally,  a  Vigilance 
Committee  was  announced,  to  be  composed  of  Messrs.  So-and-8o, 
(this  committee  was  appointed  the  evening  previous  in  castle,  and 
was  a  "Knights'  Safety  Guard,)  and  the  important  duty  of  driving 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  59 

"Abolitionists"  out  of  town  assigned  it„  The  meeting  adjourned, 
the  committee  aforesaid  imbibed  afresh  of  the  '"Confederate" 
element,  and  went  about  the  exercise  of  its  functions  with  a  re- 
markable degree  of  alacrity.  They  even  hunted  till  midnight  to 
find  a  "  Union  man,"  swearing  no  such  individual  would  find  the 
atmosphere  of  Owensboro'  healthy;"  that  it  would  do  them  good 
to  "run  a  bayonet  through  an  Abolitionist,"  etc.  Where  is  the 
decent  man  that  could  withstand  such  a  demonstration  as  this  ? 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  expositions  of  the  last  few  pages,  that 
the  enemy  of  American  liberty  in  the  United  States  is  a  very  wily 
one;  that  he  is  no  ordinary  enemy,  and,  therefore,  can  not  be 
successfully  dealt  with  by  ordinary  means.  The  armies  of  the 
Union  will  find  the  intrigue  of  the  secessionists  far  more  fatal 
than  their  steel.  While  boasting  of  their  bravery  and  chivalry, 
they  are,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  sneaking,  contemptible  cow- 
ards that  ever  trod  the  earth.  The  Southern  people  were  once  a 
very  noble  people,  truly  chivalrous  and  brave.  They  were  so  in 
the  days  of  Washington,  Marion,  Sumter;  but  their  glory  has  van- 
ished in  later  years,  and  their  bravery  is  no  more.  Of  course  this 
remark  is  not  meant  to  be  applied  universally.  There  are  still 
brave  Southrons,  but  they  are  among  the  few,  not  the  many. 
Scarcely  a  single  instance  is  on  record  where  a  Southern  man, 
in  recent  years,  has  manifested  a  willingness  to  meet  an  antago- 
nist on  fair  and  equal  footing.  In  nearly  every  modern  duel  or 
personal  rencounter  between  a  Northern  and  a  Southern  man,  or 
between  a  slave  aristocrat  and  a  liberal  Southron,  we  find  that  the 
oligarchs  have  fought  on  their  own  plan,  with  a  clear  and  decided 
advantage.  The  brutal  attack  on  Senator  Sumner  by  the  fiendish 
Brooks,  the  cowardly  murder  of  Senator  Broderick,  and  many 
other  instances  of  like  character,  fully  and  conclusively  establish 
the  truth  of  this  statement. 

From  the  very  commencement  of  the  secession  movement,  the 
disunionists  have  displayed  little  else  than  treachery  and  coward- 
ice; and  they  do  not  hope  to  attain  their  ends  by  good  engineer- 
ing and  brave  fighting,  but  by  rascality  and  incendiarism.  This 
is  the  way  they  began,  and  it  is  the  way  they  intend  to  finish. 
They  have,  at  this  time,  at  least  a  dozen  spies  North  where  we 
have  one  South ;  and  the  great  difficulty  is,  that  so  many  of  their 
agents  are  residents  among  us,  and  have  been  for  years ;  and 
while  we  are  depending  on  them  as  loyal  assistants,  and  they  are 
making  some  show  in  that  direction,  they  are,  at  the  same  time, 
playing  into  the  hands  of  our  enemies  in  the  most  skillful  and 
cfi'ective  manner. 

Again,  there  are  the  ladies.  Who  knows  what  to  do  with  them, 
or  how  to  manage  them?  A  woman  is, 'at  best,  a  rather  unman 
ageable  creature,  but  a  secession  lady  is  especially  so.  Courtesy, 
politeness,  good  breeding,  demand  that  a  woman  should  be  kindly, 
respectfully  treated;  and  the  superior  improvements  in  modern 


60  EXPOSITION   OF  THB 

etiquette,  and  the  extraordinary  progress  and  developments  of  the 
crinoline  age,  demand  that  we  of  the  masculine  gender  should 
keep  at  a  ^'respectable  distance"  on  a  ^^ short  acquaintance^  In 
view  of  these  facts,  and  in  consideration  of  the  importance  at- 
tached to  the  character  of  a  female  spy,  I  would  suggest  the  pro- 
priety of  appointing  female  vigilance  committees  in  every  town 
and  neighborhood,  to  whom  shall  be  assigned  the  duty  of  keeping 
an  eye  on  their  sister  visitors  from  the  sunny  South,  their  trunks, 
skirts,  etc.  Among  other  things,  it  would  be  well  for  these  female 
committees  to  see  that  no  letters  from  a  strange  lady,  directed  to 
any  point  South,  should  go  into  the  post-office  unexamined;  and 
this  should  be  especially  and  particularly  attended  to  where  there 
is  good  reason  for  suspicion.  The  superior  judgment  of  our 
Northern  ladies  would  of  course  enable  them  to  conduct  their 
operations  in  a  proper  and  becoming  manner, 

I  know  it  seems  rather  rude,  in  this  age  of  refinement,  to  de- 
mand a  knowledge  of  the  contents  of  a  woman's  letter,  or  of  the 
character  of  the  articles  in  her  trunk;  and,  more  especially,  of 
the  amount  of  '■'steel"  etc.,  contained  in  her  skirts.  But  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  these  are  war  times;  that  our  liberties  are 
at  stake;  that  "eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty;"  that 
those  who  threaten  our  ruin  and  the  destruction  of  the  country, 
are  aiming  to  take  every  dishonest  advantage  of  us;  that  no  con- 
descension is  too  low  for  them;  and  that,  therefore,  we  are  fully 
justifiable  in  the  use  of  any  and  every  means  which  has  for  its 
ubject  the  retardation  of  their  nefarious  schemes. 

The  men  who  have  precipitated  this  country  into  civil  war  have 
never  had  any  sense  of  justice,  and  all  their  pretensions  in  that 
direction  are,  and  ever  have  been,  false.  The  lofty  dignity  attribu- 
ted to  Jeff  Davis  is  precisely  the  same  kind  of  dignity  manifested 
by  his  father,  the  devil,  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  when  he  promised 
our  mother  Eve  that  if  she  would  pluck  and  eat  of  the  forbidden 
fruit  she  and  her  progeny  should  be  as  gods.  Conscience,  among 
secessionists,  is  an  obsolete  term,  if  Webster  has  properly  defined 
it,  and,  consequently,  all  appeals  to  that  high  moral  faculty  will 
have  about  as  much  effect  in  checking  their  villainous  movements 
as  the  wind  from  a  hand-bellows  would  have  in  retarding  the 
course  of  a  hurricane.  When  men,  such  as  the  leaders  of  the 
present  rebellion,  are  successfully  met,  it  must  be  upon  their  own 
ground,  and  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  at  least,  with  their  own 
weapons.  I  admire  the  high  moral  tone  of  the  present  administra- 
tion, as  manifested  in  its  refusal  to  allow  of  the  confiscation  of  the 
effects  of  the  Southern  traitors  in  Northern  states.  But  while  I 
admire  it,  and  while  I  would  hold  it  up  as  an  example  to  the 
world,  under  all  ordinary  circumstances,  yet  I  can  but  consider 
it,  in  the  present  condition  of  things,  as  not  only  impracticable, 
but  as  absolutely  suicidal  and  unjust  both  to  the  government  and 
the  people  of  the  North.     While  we  stand  up  in  our  high  moral 


KNIGHTS  OP  THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  61 

rectitude,  and  refuse  to  touch  a  single  cent's  worth  of  the  Southern 
banditti's  property  in  our  midst,  they  are  not  only  levying  upon 
and  appropriating  whatever  of  our  effects  may  chance  to  be  found 
in  their  states,  and,  thief-like,  refusing  to  pay  what  they  honestly 
owe  us,  but,  as  has  been  shown  in  preceding  pages,  are  organizing 
the  most  effective  bands  of  highway  robbers  and  plunderers  to 
depredate  upon  Northern  soil.  Further,  they  have  made  all 
necessary  arrangements  to  send  among  us  their  bogus  male  and 
female  refugees,  to  act  in  concert  with  our  own  native  traitors, 
as  aids  and  assistants  to  their  hellish  desperadoes.  So  we  see, 
and  are  bound  to  admit,  that  the  superior  moral  position  assumed 
by  the  government,  while  it  is  more  than  fair  for  the  rebels,  is 
positively  oppressive  and  destructive  to  us.  I  presume  the  extra- 
ordinary justice  shown  the  secessionists  in  this  affair  is  to  reward 
them  for  the  ample  service  they  rendered  the  nation  some  time 
ago,  in  stealing  its  treasury,  robbing  it  of  its  arms,  and  poisoning 
such  of  its  officials  as  were  found  susceptible.  The  refusal  of  the 
President  to  allow  the  Pennsylvania  merchants  to  levy  upon  the 
property  of  Southrons  in  their  state,  although  undoubtedly  well 
meant,  was  little  better,  in  consideration  of  all  the  facts  in  the 
case,  than  taking  the  worth  of  such  property  immediately  out 
of  their  pockets.  It  is  the  absolute  duty  of  the  United  States 
authorities,  and  of  state  authorities,  to  secure  and  appropriate 
every  dime's  worth  of  the  property  of  the  disunionists  found  north 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line ;  a  duty  in  every  sense  of  the  term, 
morally,  religiously,  and  pecuniarily.  Men  in  revolutionary  times, 
such  as  these,  in  successfully  opposing  an  enemy  such  as  we  have 
to  meet,  must  be  practical,  not  theoretical.  They  must  view  both 
sides  of  every  issue,  and  be  able  to  see  justice  in  more  than  one 
light,  and  as  to  be  applied  in  more  than  one  direction.  A  set 
of  men  who  have  been  maturing  schemes  of  national  robbery  and 
piracy  for  nearly  thirty  years  are  not  to  be  conquered  by  appeals 
to  something  of  which  they  have  not  the  slightest  knowledge — 
conscience.  Men  who  can  employ  their  women  to  assist  in 
plundering  our  homes  and  despoiling  our  domestic  happiness,  are 
not  to  be  affected  by  the  mild  principles  of  Christianity.  The 
bayonet  will  penetrate  them  much  more  effectively  than  the  moral 
teachings  of  Christ;  a  ten-inch  columbiad  will  present  far  more 
weighty  and  convincing  arguments  to  them  than  the  most  learned 
and  powerful  theologian  in  the  world,  and  a  few  dollars  taken 
from  their  pockets  will  do  more  to  weaken  their  diabolical  reso- 
lutions than  all  the  appeals  that  could  be  made  to  their  (o)  sense 
of  honor  in  a  century. 

As  has  a'.ready  been  indicated,  there  are  yet  several  Knights 
scattered  a^K-ut  in  various  places  over  the  country,  and  wherever 
they  are,  ih-zj  exert  a  greater  or  less  influence  upon  those  who 
immediai/'r^y  surround  them.  There  are  many  traitors  in  the 
North  w'lo  do  not  belong  to  the  K,  G.  C,  but  they  are,  in  most 


62  EXPOSITION   OF   TUB 

instances,  the  disciples  of  one  or  more  who  live  in  their  neigh- 
borhood. For  instance,  in  Carlisle,  Sullivan  county,  Indiana, 
there  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty  Jeff  Davis  subjects,  who  absorb 
the  teachings  and  obey  the  mandates  of  a  Knight  of  the  Outer. 
Temple,  and  he,  with  them,  has  repeatedly  sworn  that  if  he  fights 
for  anybody,  it  will  be  for  Jeff  Davis.  This  individual  has  a  rela- 
tive in  the  South  that  he  frequently  visits,  with  whom  he  is  in 
regular  correspondence,  and  to  whom  he  transmits  the  news  of 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Southern  Indiana.  He  often  receives 
letters  enveloped  in  the  secession  flag,  but  the  post-master  of  Car 
lisle  being  aa  scoundrelly  a  traitor  as  himself,  nothing  is  said  of 
the  matter.  This  arch-fiend,  not  only  has  his  proselytes  in  Carlisle, 
but  claims  quite  a  number  of  followers  in  various  places  in  Sulli- 
van county.  Again,  there  is,  in  Davies  county,  Indiana,  a  clique 
of  similar  character,  governed  and  controlled  by  several  Knights. 
This  combination  is  more  powerful  than  the  one  in  Sullivan,  and 
once  or  twice  even  threatened  to  mob  any  company  of  U.  S.  Vol- 
unteers that  might  be  formed  in  Davies,  They  concluded  not  to 
do  it,  however,  1  believe.  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that,  under 
the  auspices  of  Drongoole,  in  Martin,  and  in  some  few  parts  of 
Pike  counties,  there  is  another  traitorous  gang  of  marauders.  1 
am  not  thoroughly  informed  whether  there  are  any  combinations 
in  any  ofher  localities  along  our  Southern  border,  but  presume 
there  are,  especially  about  Madison,  New  Albany,  and  RockporL 
The  almost  universal  loyal  feeling  which  prevails  in  those  places, 
will,  beyond  doubt,  check  any  outward  displays  in  favor  of  the  < 
enemy  by  the  Daviesites ;  but  it  need  not  be  presumed  that  "  no 
danger,"  which  is  always  the  cry  of  the  over-confident,  need  be 
apprehended  from  them.  They  may  become  "converted"  to  the 
Union  doctrine,  and  join  ''home  guards,"  or  even  enlist  in  the 
government  service,  especially  if  they  can  get  to  be  officers,  and 
still  render  the  most  effective  assistance  to  the  South. 

I  had  it  from  prominent  Knights,  that  full  and  complete  arrang- 
ments  had  been  made  with  sundry  members  in  the  North,  to  fur- 
nish them  important  dispatches  in  the  following  manner:  They, 
the  Northern  members,  were  to  remain  in  their  respective  locali- 
ties, make  loud  professions  of  Union  sentiments,  gather  all  the 
news  they  could,  by  telegraph  and  otherwise,  and  transmit  the 
same,  through  men  of  their  own  stripe,  from  town  to  town  through 
the  post-oflSces,  until  it  reached  a  border  town,  and  here  it  was  to 
be  conveyed  across  the  line,  to  the  nearest  Southern  town,  and 
mailed  to  the  proper  persons.  Others,  again,  were  to  join  the  U.  S. 
army,  transmit  dispatches  in  a  similar  manner,  create  false  im- 
pressions respecting  the  movements  of  Southern  troops,  etc.,  and 
thereby  draw  our  men  into  dangerous  and  destructive  snares.  Still 
others  were  to  join  home  guards,  make  sufiicient  Union  noise  to  pre- 
vent suspii;ion,  and,  in  the  meantime,  act  as  secret  escorts  to  South- 
ern scouts,  directing  them  by  the  proper  routes,  telling  them  where 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE  GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  63 

Triends  were,  and  by  what  means  they  could  best  accomplish  their 
ends.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  all  these  capacities  Northern  traitors 
could  yield  much  assistance  to  the  "Knights  Gallant"  mentioned  in 
the  programme  of  general  movements,  given  in  preceding  pages. 
I  also  understood  that  similar  arrangements,  on  a  much  more  ex- 
tensive and  complicated  scale,  had  been  made  in  nearly  all  the 
Eastern  towns  and  cities.  It  was  presumed  that  the  city  of  New 
York,  alone,  contained  at  least  five  hundred  Knights  of  the  Inner 
Temple  ;  that  among  them  were  telegraph  operators,  post-oflfice 
clerks,  and  express  agents ;  that  these  were  of  the  true  and  tried,  and 
that  there  was  not  the  slightest  room  for  doubting  their  loyalty  to  the 
K.  G.  C.  under  all  circumstances.  Many  of  them  were  Southern 
born,  and  could  be  relied  on  to  the  last  extremity.  All  those  who 
were  natives  of  the  North,  had  been  taken  to  some  Southern  town 
and  initiated,  between  New  Year's  day  and  the  first  of  March, 
1861.  1  was  told  that  no  less  than  twenty-five  were  initiated  in 
Baltimore  on  one  evening,  every  one  of  whom  were  of  New  York. 
The  majority  of  those  of  the  K.  G.  C.  now  living  in  Border  States, 
especially  those  in  Southern  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  have  been 
sent  out  from  Southern  castles  within  the  last  few  weeks,  i.  e. 
just  before  and  immediately  after  Sumter's  bombardment.  As  I 
have  before  stated,  they  even  tried  to  institute  castles  in  the  im- 
mediate Northern  borders  after  the  Sumter  affair,  but  did  not 
report  favorably.  It  was  apprehended  that  in  large  sections  of 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York,  no  difficulty  would 
be  encountered  by  these  Knights'  spies,  it  being  presumed  that 
however  strong  the  Union  feeling  might  grow,  there  would  still 
remain  many,  not  Knights,  who  would  warmly  sympathize  with 
the  South.  I  saw  in  Henderson^  Kentucky,  a  New  York  drummer 
who  belonged  to  the  Inner  Temple,  who  said  that  the  Southern 
trade  would  tie  New  York  city  to  the  South  in  spite  of  any  efforts 
on  the  part  of  the  Administration  to  keep  her  loyal.  This  was 
said  quite  recently.  We  also  frequently  see  it  stated  in  the  papers 
that  the  Southern  people  still  believe  there  are  many  -vvarm  friends 
of  "Southern  rights"  in  the  North;  and  however  much  it  may  de- 
press the  feelings  of  the  Union  loving  masses,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
toll  them  that  there  is  even  yet  too  much  foundation  for  this  belief. 
In  Indianapolis,  Terre  Haute,  and  other  places  in  Indiana;  in 
Cincinnati,  Columbus,  etc.,  Ohio ;  in  Philadelphia  and  other  cities 
in  Pennsylvania;  in  New  York  and  other  points,  New  York  State, 
and,  in  fact,  in  nearly  every  Northern  city  and  town  of  any  con- 
sequence, and  in  many  small  towns  and  cnu  itry  neighborhoods, 
there  are  numbers  of  secret  agents  in  almwt  constant  correspon- 
dence with  various  castles  and  individuals  in  the  South.  Many 
of  these  send  their  letters  round  by  by-ways,  to  prevent  their  being 
opened.  A  few  of  them  are  natives,  but  more  of  them  are  "  South- 
ern refugees."  Beside  these,  there  are  several  persons  who  do  not 
belong  to  the  li.  G.  C.  among  the  leading  men  of  the  North,  who 


01  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

think  more  of  the  South  than  they  do  of  the  government,  and  in 
their  correspondence  they  often  tell  their  friends  of  the  Slave 
States,  that  the  time  is  rapidly  coming  when  there  will  be  a 
''great  reaction"  in  the  North.  Again,  there  are  still  a  few  of 
our  Northern  papers  that  are  allowed  to  talk  treason  in  a  sort  of 
round-about  way.  All  these  things  put  together,  give  the  friends 
ef  "  Southern  rights"  some  grounds  for  presuming  they  have  con- 
siderable sympathy  in  the  North. 

The  foregoing  disclosures  and  facts  indicate  that  there  is  much 
to  do  in  this  our  great  effort  to  retain  our  liberties,  beside  equip- 
ping and  sending  out  armies.  Those  who  remain  at  home  have, 
if  anything,  the  most  important  labor  to  perform.  To  them  falls 
the  work  of  watching  spies  from  abroad  and  traitors  at  home; 
who,  however  much  the  more  sanguine  may  be  disposed  to  doubt 
it,  are  far  more  numerous  than  many  have  the  least  idea  of.  It 
ha3  frequently  been  said  of  late,  that  overpowering  numbers, 
plenty  of  bayonets,  and  the  sight  of  efficient  batteries  will  make 
Union  men,  as  was  the  case  in  Baltimore.  Men  who  reason  deeply 
and  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  human  nature  do  not  talk  thus. 
An  overawing  military  display  never  did  make  patriots.  It  may 
scare  them  into  submission  and  an  outward  manifestation  of  p;v- 
triotism;  but  nothing  save  principle  can  make  a  man  truly  loyal. 
Let  it  he  kept  constantly  before  the  minds  of  the  people^  and  let  it 
never  he  forgotten  throughout  this  great  revolutionary  struggle^ 
that  conquered  friends  are  far  more  dangerous  than  unconquered 
foes.  VVherever  it  is  presumed  that  a  man,  or  any  number  of 
men  has  any  active  sympathy  with  the  Southern  traitors,  such 
man  or  men  should  be  either  shipped  to  the  rattlesnake  den,  or 
hung.  There  are  two  or  three  places  in  Southern  Indiana  and 
Illinois  that  should  be  "  cleaned  out."  Carlisle  is  one  of  them, 
and  a  small  town  in  Davies  county,  near  Washington,  is  another. 
Vigilance  committees  should  be  more  active  and  keen  eyed;  night 
watches  should  be  increased,  well  armed  and  kept  actively  at 
work,  not  only  in  large  towns  but  in  small  ones.  The  Southern 
traitors  calculate  very  largely  on  the  quantities  of  provisions  they 
will  steal  by  means  of  the  "Knights  Gallant,"  and  it  is  not  their 
intention  to  operate  on  large  cities,  but  on  small  towns  and  in 
country  neighborhoods,  in  almost  every  one  of  which  they  will 
have  a  greater  or  lesser  number  of  spies,  who  will  be  constantly 
working  in  concert  with  "  Northern  friends,"  in  furtherance  of 
their  schemes.  No  neighborhood,  however  insignificant,  should 
be  without  its  regular  night  patrol  after  the  war  fairly  commences, 
because  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Knights  to  make  this  a  war  of 
extermination,  and  to  carry  it  on  in  the  most  savage  and  destruc- 
tive manner.  As  i  have  before  intimated,  they  do  not  anticipate 
a  victory  by  fair  means,  although  the  paragraphs  of  some  of  thoir 
editors  indicate  great  confidence  in  the  superiority  of  their  troops 
and  tlie  invincibleness  of  their  cause.     They  do  not  expect  to 


KNIGHTS    OP   THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  65 

depend  upon  regular  campaigning,  but  upon  any  and  every  de- 
structive and  devastative  means  they  can  employ.  In  castle,  I 
have  often  heard  Knights  declare  that  when  the  war  commenced 
they  vrould  never  stop  until  every  "Abolitionist"  was  killed,  and 
all  their  property  turned  to  the  enrichment  of  the  South;  that 
any  true  "Southern  rights"  man  would  delight  in  secretly  cut- 
ting their  throats,  burning  their  houses,  and  appropriating  their 
property.  Such  sentiments  as  those  just  quoted  may  seem  so 
crazy  in  spirit  that  thousands  will  not  believe  they  could  have 
been  uttered  by  any  man.  Before  going  South,  I  would  hardly 
have  believed  such  myself  But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  Southern  fire-eaters  have  been  becoming  more  and  more  affected 
with  the  nigger  mania  for  several  years,  and  that  their  sentiments 
having  permeated  nearly  the  whole  South,  we  should  not  expect 
to  find  the  people  sane  on  the  subject  of  slaver3^  They  are  just 
about  as  crazy  for  slavery  as  John  Brown,  Sen.,  was  against  it. 
Hear  the  following,  which  is  an  abstract  of  a  conversation  with  a 
Knight  of  Tennessee. 

"  Sir,  you  know  we  are  a  peculiar  people ;  that  our  surround- 
ings are  peculiar;  and,  in  the  coming  struggle,  we  shall  have  more 
than  one  thing  to  think  of,  and  more  than  one  thing  to  do.  The 
circumstances  which  surround  us  are  such  as  will  harass  and  per- 
plex us  beyond  description.  In  case  of  a  civil  war,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  negro  insurrections,  which  will  be  terrible  and  appall- 
ing; we  will  be  blockaded  on  every  side;  we  will  be  scarce  of 
provisions ;  the  European  world  will  be  against  us  ;  and  all  these 
circumstances,  taken  together,  will  drive  us  to  the  committal  of 
deeds  we  never  would  have  thought  of  before.  More  than  this, 
many  of  our  people — in  fact,  nearly  all  of  them — have,  for  years, 
been  nurturing  a  deadly  hatred  against  the  anti-slavery  men  of 
the  North.  The  number  of  niggers  they  have  stolen  and  caused 
us  to  lose,  the  tract  war  against  slavery,  the  newspaper  war  against 
slavery,  the  pulpit  war  against  slavery,  and  the  political  war 
against  slavery,  have  all  combined  to  make  our  people  hate  the 
North,  and  once  they  get  a  chance  at  them,  by  a  declaration  of 
war,  they  will  delight  in  just  butchering  them,  shooting  them,  and 
burning  their  very  houses  over  their  heads,  and  destroying  them 
in  every  other  way  they  can."  So  it  will  be  seen  that  they  hon- 
estly believe  they  have  just  causes  for  the  committal  of  their  des- 
perate acts. 

The  people  of  the  South  are  exceedingly  hasty  and  impetuous. 
Their  climate,  their  modes  of  life,  etc.,  tend  to  render  them  so. 
In  addition  to  these  considerations,  they  are  very  largely  mixed' 
with  the  French  and  Spanish  bloods,  which  circumstance  is  by 
no  means  calculated  to  render  them  less  inflammable.  We  of  the 
North,  on  the  other  hand,  live  in  a  cooler  climate,  have  vastly 
diflferent  social  and  domestic  institutions,  are  mostly  from  the^ 
German  and  English  races,  and,  consequently,  are,  in  disposition^, 
5 


66  EXPOSITION   OF    THE 

a  very  different  people,  as  a  general  thing.  I  know  some  native 
Southrons  are  among  us,  but  I  have  always  noticed  that  a  South- 
ern man  in  the  North  was  by  no  means  a  Southern  man  in  the 
South.  Of  these  facts,  the  Southern  people  are  generally  aware. 
They  also  know  that  we  are  a  more  self-reliant  people  than  they; 
that  we  are  duly  conscious  of  our  superior  strength  and  wealth; 
that  we  are  less  suspicious  of  anything  evil  happening  us  than 
they  are ;  that  we  are  somewhat  slower  on  the  move,  and  that, 
consequently,  considerable  advantage  will  be  gained  over  us  by 
«udden.  unexpected  movements,  in  remote  and  unguarded  places. 
Their  night  forays  and  plundering  expeditions — and  they  antici- 
pate many — are  all  to  be  conducted  on  what  they  term  the  "Ma- 
rion" or  ''Swamp  Fox"  plan.  A  party  of  mounted  "Knights 
Gallant"  are  to  collect  at  some  point  along  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line,  make  a  descent  upon  a  corn-growing  neighborhood,  surprise 
flome  old  farmer,  take  his  wagon  and  team,  load  up  with  corn,  and 
strike  for  the  river.  Once  there,  they  will  convey  their  plunder 
across,  in  skiffs  and  flats,  to  Southern  soil,  where  a  previously 
posted  guard,  with  servants,  conveyances,  etc.,  will  be  prepared  to 
receive  them.  In  the  mean  time,  if  the  farmer  wakes,  and  is  about 
to  detect  them,  they  will  set  fire  to  some  of  his  property,  and 
thereby  distract  his  attention;  or,  if  he  comes  too  close  upon  them, 
will  shoot  him,  and  let  him  go.  In  other  instances,  it  will  be 
arranged  with  some  of  the  "faithful "  to  have  the  farmer  and  hig 
family  leave  home  on  some  particular  and  designated  occasion, 
when  the  same  operation  can  be  carried  on  more  conveniently. 

Again^  it  is  the  intention  of  the  K.  G.  C.  to  send  large  detach- 
ments of  the  mounted  "  Knights  Gallant,"  armed  with  rifles, 
swords,  and  short  arms,  to  attack  and  harass  such  weaker  portions 
of  the  United  States  army  as  may  be  convenient  to  them.  This 
kind  of  fighting  suits  the  young  bloods  of  the  South  far  better 
than  any  other.  There  is  just  enough  of  risk  and  romance  about 
it  to  inspire  them,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  will  vie  with 
each  other  in  the  performance  of  extraordinary  feats,  and  the 
achievement  of  grand  little  victories.  To  fully  prepare  them  for 
this  species  of  warfare,  they  have,  for  some  time,  been  practicing 
race  targeting.  This  is  accomplished  by  first  prepa-ring  a  circu- 
itous race-course,  of  small  circumference — say  a  quarter  of  a 
mile — then  arranging  targets,  to  the  number  of  six  to  twelve;  after 
which  the  "chivalry"  mount  their  fleet  horses  and  ride  around 
the  ring  at  a  rapid  speed,  firing  with  revolvers  or  Minies  at  the 
targets  in  succession.  This  is  very  grand  sport  for  the  "  Knights 
Gallant,"  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  gives  them  the  very  best  of 
dragoon  drill. 

Now,  in  order  to  meet  this  extensive  guerrilla  arrangement  suc- 
cessfully, I  would  suggest  the  formation  of  similar  companies,  and 
the  practice  of  a  similar  drill,  in  the  North.  We  have  young  men 
just  as  active  and  as  brave  as  any  in  the  South,  or  elsewhere;  wo 


KXIGHTS   OF  THB  GOLDEN   CrRCLR  67 

have  horses,  plenty  of  them,  as  good  as  were  ever  saddled ;  and  we 
have  the  means  and  the  will  to  make  this  kind  of  service  equally 
as  effective  as  the  Southern  people  can.  If  the  Government  will 
not  authorize  it,  let  it  be  done  on  individual  responsibility.  It 
should  be  done ;  it  must  be  done,  if  we  intend  to  save  our  homes, 
our  lives,  and  our  liberties. 

In  looking  round  over  the  country,  since  I  returned  North,  1 
find  the  means  of  defense,  as  a  general  thing,  very  inferior  to 
what  they  should  be.  I  also  notice,  as  before  intimated,  that  the 
Northern  people  are  nowhere  vigilant  enough.  I  would,  therefore, 
Again  enforce  the  great,  the  urgent  necessity  of  stricter  vigilance, 
and  more  thorough,  systematic  means  of  defense.  The  citizens 
of  the  Free  States  seem  disposed  to  make  large  deductions  from 
the  probability  of  any  aggressive  measures  by  the  South,  on  the 
supposition  that  the  prevention  of  negro  insurrections  will  occupy 
the  "  chivalry "  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  such  measures 
inimical  to  home  interests.  From  this  argument,  although  to  one 
not  acquainted  with  the  Southern  character  it  would  seem  very 
forcible,  much  weight  is  subtracted  by  the  fact  that  secessionists 
nowhere  bear  the  reputation  of  being  prudent  and  considerate, 
i.  e.,  the  masses.  It  is  true  that  such  men  as  Cobb  and  Floyd 
have  displayed  a  little  forethought  in  the  way  they  prepared  for 
the  revolution ;  but  it  is  a  fact  well  known  to  zoologists,  that 
almost  every  kind  of  animal,  whether  intelligent  or  automatic, 
knows  how  to  provide  for  its  own  wants.  It  is  also  a  fact,  of 
which  almost  every  one  is  aware,  that  when  a  hog  is  hungry,  and 
can  not  obtain  corn  honorably,  he  will  enter  the  crib  and  take  it, 
if  the  door  is  left  open.  Mr.  Buchanan  left  Uncle  Sam's  crib 
door  wide  open  during  the  whole  of  the  term  he  had  the  keeping 
of  it,  and,  of  course,  there  was  every  opportunity  for  the  shoata 
in  the  public  barn-yard  to  help  themselves.  I  see  no  great  display 
of  genius  or  "far-sightedness"  in  this,  because  thieving  is  an  in- 
stinct belonging  even  to  the  lowest  animals  The  great  majority 
of  the  Southern  people,  however,  are  not  Cobbs,  nor  Floyds,  nor 
Daviscs,  by  a  long  distance,  either  in  point  of  talent  or  coolness. 
They  are,  as  has  been  stated,  a  people  of  moderate  intellectual 
caliber,  and  largely  preponderating  animal  passions,  which  circum- 
stances, in  consideration  of  the  highly  exciting  influences  sur- 
rounding them,  utterly  forbids  the  possibility  of  anything  like  an 
ordinary  display  of  wisdom.  Negro  insurrections  they  have  ex- 
pected from  the  beginning,  and  so  far  from  its  having  had  the 
effect  to  cool  the  secession  fever,  it  has  only  increased  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  are  fully  con\'inced  that 
they  are,  to  say  the  least,  the  immediate  cause  of  all  their  own 
trouble,  yet,  as  that  trouble  becomes  more  and  more  aggravated, 
they  become  more  and  more  intensified  in  their  deadly  hatred 
toward  the  Northern  people.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to 
describe  the  fierce,  fiendish  revenge  fulness  I  have  seen  depicted 


68  EXPOSITION   OF  THE 

in  their  countenances  while  conversing  with  them  of  national 
affairs.  This  unnatural  feeling  toward  us  was  not  general,  by 
any  means,  even  in  the  Gulf  States,  until  engendered  there  by  the 
Knights,  and,  until  then,  was  scarcely  visible  in  the  Border  States. 
But  it  is  everywhere  now,  where  a  castle  exists ;  and  as  the  civil 
war  approaches,  by  their  incessant  efforts,  night  and  day,  they 
continue  to  spread  and  intensify  it.  If  I  am  asked  the  reason  for 
the  existence  of  such  a  state  of  affairs,  1  can  only  give,  as  my 
reply,  what  is  my  honest  opinion :  the  Southern  people  have  gone 
mad  on  the  Slavery  Question.  The  large  majority  of  them  seem 
to  be  perfectly  reckless  of  the  present,  entirely  regardless  of  the 
future;  while  there  are  a  few  of  the  leading  revolutionary  spirits, 
in  almost  every  locality,  who  seem  to  think  the  cau.se  of  secession 
80  hoi}',  and  the  people  of  the  South  so  invincible,  that  no  powei 
on  earth,  nor  all  the  powers  of  the  world  combined,  could  conquer 
them,  under  any  circumstances. 

The  foregoing  considerations,  together  with  the  exciting  prompt- 
ings of  hunger  and  want,  consequent  upon  the  Government  block- 
ade, render  it  morally  certain  that  the  work  I  have  described  as 
having  been  assigned  the  K.  G.  will  be  done,  both  as-  a  work  of 
revenge  and  of  necessity,  even  by  those  who  have  long  lived  by 
us  as  our  neighbors  and  brethren  on  the  borders,  and  who  have 
not  undergone  that  long,  thorough  course  of  training  in  the  tac- 
tics of  the  Knights  which  their  more  distant  secession  relatives  of 
the  Cotton  States  have.  Let  it  not,  therefore,  be  presumed  by  the 
hopeful  friends  of  freedom  in  the  North,  that  "there  is  no  dan- 
ger;" but,  on  the  other  hand,  let  danger  be  fully  expected,  and 
prepared  for  in  the  most  thorough  manner;  danger  of  every  de- 
scription, both  at  home  and  from  abroad. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Yancey  and  Toombs — the  Slave  Trade  and  Fillibustering— 
Northern  Sympathizers  with  the  latter — the  "Abolition" 
Scarecrow — the  Lecompton  Swindle  the  work  of  the  K.  G.  C. 
— Similarity  of  that  Fraud  with  Secession  Operations — 
THE  Impetus  given  the  Secession  Movement  by  the  Republican 
Leaders  in  18G0 — the  Breckinridge  Party  a  Secession  Organ- 
ization. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Yancey  said,  after  the  with- 
drawal of  his  state  from  the  Union,  that  he  had  been  a  secession- 
ist for  thirty  years.  It  will  also  be  remembered  that  it  was 
charfi^ed  that  Mii  Toombs  said,  in  a  sneeck  he  delivered  in  Con- 


KNIGHTS  OP  THE  GOLDEN   CIRCLE,  69 

gresa  a  few  years  ago,  that  he  expected  to  see  the  day  when  he 
could  call  the  roll  of  his  slaves  at  the  foot  of  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment These  remarks  will  not  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  revealed 
that  the  men  from  whom  they  emanated  are  the  oldest  members 
of  the  Southern  Rights'  Club  now  living.  Yancey  paid,  out  of 
his  own  pocket,  over  ten  thousand  dollars  to  equip  secret  slavers, 
between  the  years  1834  and  1840.  Toombs,  who  is  presumed  to 
be  the  wealthiest  man  in  Georgia,  donated,  from  time  to  time,  for 
the  same  purpose,  over  twenty  thousand  dollars.  In  many  in- 
stances it  was  not  necessary  to  purchase  or  build  a  ship,  but 
merely  to  buy  or  hire  the  master.  Of  the  six  kidnapping  vessels 
Bent  out  between  1834-'40,  five  were  Yankee  crafts,  owned  by 
Yankee  captains;  and  the  whole  three  plying  during  1856  were 
New  York  vessels.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Southern  people 
have  some  reason  for  saying  that  a  Yankee  can  easily  be  induced 
to  sell  anything  he  has,  even  to  his  honor;  that  among  the  North- 
erners there  is  no  such  thing  as  principle. 

That  greatest  of  all  scarecrows,  ^^Abolitionism"  has  been  the 
pretext,  during  the  past  few  years,  for  every  species  of  seces- 
sion sconndrelism.  A  man  who  moved  to  Kansas  Territory  and 
favored  the  Free  State  ticket  was  an  Aholitionist ;  the  man  who 
lionestly  believed  that  slavery  was  the  creature  of  local  law, 
and  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  did  not  carry  and 
protect  it  everjAvhere,  was  an  Aholitionist;  the  man  who  denied 
the  constitutional  right  of  secession,  or  the  right  of  one  state  to 
destroy  the  whole  government,  was  an  Aholitionist ;  and,  finally, 
in  latter  days,  the  man  who  sustains  the  Constitution  and  upholds 
the  stars  and  gtripes,  is  an  Aholitionist  Just  at  this  latter  junc- 
ture, the  Northern  secessionists,  with  few  exceptions,  call  a  halt, 
having  been  .hitherto  apparently  blind  respecting  the  direct  and 
legitimate  tendency  of  their  promotion  of  "Southern  rights,"  and 
their  opposition  to  "  Abolitionism."  With  the  exceptions  of  those 
contemptible  specimens  of  humanity,  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio, 
and  Jesse  D.  Bright,  of  Indiana,  there  are  few  politicians  in  the 
Northwest  who  are  not  now,  in  Southern  eyes,  what  they  bo 
recently  abhorred,  "  Abolitionists."  The  real  Abolition  party  of 
the  North  was  so  insignificant  a  political  element  that  no  sensible 
Southern  man  had  the  slightest  fears  of  danger  from  it.  It  only 
needed  to  have  been  let  alone  to  have  died  so  dead  that  it  would 
never  more  have  been  heard  of  While  conversing  with  the  Hon. 
Archie  Dixon,  of  Kentucky,  some  months  ago,  he  remarked  to  me: 
"  We  could  have  always  managed  the  Abolitionists  had  it  not  b^en 
for  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  in  the  South,  and  their  ac- 
complices in  the  North.  The  great  Northwestern  States  always 
contained  a  wholesome  conservative  majority  until  the  Yancey 
school,  in  the  Slave  States,  and  the  Buchanan  school,  in  the  Free 
States,  undertook  to  construe  the  Constitution  into  a  pro-slavery 
document" 


§ 


70  EXPOSITION   OF   THB 

Who  desires  better  proof  of  the  determination  of  the  secsssioa- 
iats,  North  and  South,  not  to  allow  the  "  Abolition  "  fire  to  go 
down,  than  the  course  which  was  taken  by  them  to  force  the  great 
Lecompton  swindle  through  Congress  at  its  35th  session?  That 
swindle  was  the  legitimate  concoction  of  the  KL  G.  C,  and  was 
produced  and  presented  in  the  manner  that  it  was,  for  the  sole 
urpose  of  strengthening  the  free-soil  element  in  the  North,  and 
ividing  the  Democratic  party.  Notwithstanding  all  the  "out- 
rages" that  were  committed  in  "Bleeding  Kansas,"  the  conserva- 
tive people  of  the  Free  States  had  elected  "Granny"  Buchanan 
on  the  principle  of  non-intervention,  by  a  large  majority,  in  1856; 
and  it  was  plainly  obvious  that  something  a  little  stronger  than 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  the  doctrine  of  Popu- 
lar Sovereignty  was  required  to  thoroughly  "  abolitionize"  the 
North.  The  so-called  Constitution,  framed  by  the  K.  G.  C.  Con- 
vention at  Lecompton,  was  considered  the  very  thing  that  would 
accomplish  the  work.  In  electing  delegates  to  that  Convention, 
the  same  "coercive"  appliances  were  used  to  secure  the  success 
of  the  pro-slavery  ticket  that  are  now  used  to  elect  delegates  to  a 
secession  convention,  and  the  same  fraud  and  trickery  were  mani- 
fested in  its  deliberations  that  have  since  characterized  the  secret 
sessions  of  every  secession  body  that  has  convened.  It  is  also 
true,  and  I  here  record  it  as  a  matter  of  history,  that  the  same 
cla^s  of  arguments  was  used,  both  by  the  K.  G.  C.  of  the  South 
and  their  truckling  followers  in  the  North,  to  prove  the  legality 
of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  as  is  now  used,  by  the  same  individu^ 
als,  to  prove  the  legitimacy  of  a  secession  ordinance. 

How  any  man  with  one  particle  of  honesty  or  consistency  could 
come  before  the  intelligent  masses  of  the  Free  States  advocating 
the  claims  of  a  presidential  platform,  the  very  framers  of  which 
had  been,  more  or  less,  engaged  in  the  Lecompton  secession  scheme, 
ia  an  enigma,  the  unraveling  of  which  1  confess  myself  totally 
incapable  of  performing. 

While  the  world  stands,  and  the  people  continue  to  think,  there 
is  one  thing  which  will  remain  a  lasting  disgrace  to  the  Repub- 
lican party.  I  allude  to  the  assistance  they  rendered  the  Breck- 
inridge secessionists,  in  the  campaign  of  1860,  in  the  North. 
Although  totally  ignorant  of  the  secrets  of  the  K.  G.  C,  by  whom 
Mr.  B.  was  nominated,  yet  they  did  far  more  to  popularize  his 
ticket  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  than  the  secessionists 
themselves.  All  the  senatorial  speeches  made  against  Douglas 
by  such  men  as  Benjamin  and  Jeff  Davis,  were  eagerly  sought  for, 
and  vigorously  circulated,  by  the  leading  Republicans  throughout 
the  country.  Further,  the  same  partisans  used  almost  superhuman 
efforts  to  swell  the  numbers  at  all  the  secession  ratification  meetings 
that  were  called,  from  time  to  time,  in  the  Northern  States,  during 
the  campaign.  While  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  the  Republicans 
ftnd  Secession  Democrats  to  harmonize  on  a  single  principle,  they 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  71 

agreed  to  unite  in  their  mutual  hatred  of  Douglas.  Of  course  it 
was  to  the  interest  of  the  Republicans  that  the  Democratic  party 
should  be  divided;  and,  according  to  the  rulesof  political  warfare, 
there  is  nothing  wrong  in  one  party  taking  advantage  of  the 
disconcerted  condition  of  another,  to  secure  a  victory.  But  I 
apprehend  there  is  an  honorable  way  of  profiting  by  such  advantages. 
The  Republicans  must  have  seen  that  the  Breckinridge  ticket  was 
a  secession  ticket,  and  that,  consequently,  the  favoring  of  it,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  was  the  promotion  of  rebellion  and  civil 
war.  To  have  acted  honorably  in  the  matter,  therefore,  would 
have  been  to  discuss  and  enforce  the  merits  of  their  own  platform  and 
candidates,  and  let  both  P>reckinridge  and  Douglas  tickets  entirely 
alone,  especially  the  former.  The  Republicans  certainly  were  the 
more  natural  friends  and  allies  of  the  Douglas  men,  as  it  regarded 
the  maintenance  of  the  Union  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws, 
as  has  been  fully  proven  since  the  outbreak  of  the  present  revo- 
lution. 

I  was  myself  a  Republican,  and  a  warm  supporter  of  the 
Republican  platform,  but  never  could  get  the  consent  of  my 
consistency  to  encourage  the  secession  ticket.  The  real  criminality 
of  such  an  encouragement,  however,  never  fully  appeared  to  me 
until  I  traveled  South,  and  there,  both  in  castle  and  out  doors, 
heard  the  K.  G,  C.  congratulating  themselves  over  the  "valuable" 
assistance  rendered  them  by  the  "Abolitionists"  of  the  North. 

The  Republican  party  has  a  platform  of  which  it  may  justly 
be  proud,  and  has  done  many  highly  estimable  things;  but  the 
promotion  of  the  secession  ticket  in  the  Free  States  during  the 
campaign  of  1860  was  not  one  of  those  things.  Should  it  survive 
the  present  storm,  and  again  present  its  claims  to  the  people  of 
this  government,  let  it  never  be  guilty  of  another  so  gro^s  and 
fatal  a  crime  as  this  was. 

In  due  keeping  with  the  manner  in  which  the  K.  G.  C.  tried  to 
palm  the  Lecompton  swindle  on  the  honest-thinking  masses,  in 
1857-58,  and  in  precisely  the  same  spirit  in  which  they  have  since 
conducted  the  secret  sessions  of  their  secession  conventions,  and 
forced  their  secession  ordinances  upon  their  fellow  citizens,  we 
now  find  them  conducting  all  their  present  diabolical  schemes. 
Having  assumed  the  capacity  of  "  Confederate  "  rulers,  and  having 
deprived  the  people,  by  armed  mob  suasion,  of  all  their  power,  they 
form  a  bogus  government,  establish  bogus  laws,  and,  by  the  most 
inhuman,  brutal  means,  force  the  rightful  sovereigns  of  the  land 
to  obey  them.  Wherever  they  have  the  power,  they  arraign,  try, 
and  hang,  as  a  traitor,  a  man,  for  merely  asserting  his  preference 
of  the  United  States  Government;  they  confiscate  and  plunder  the 
property  of  those  who  refuse  to  take  up  arms  against  their  countir; 
they  beat  and  mercilessly  abuse  a  man  for  merely  saying  that  tne 
fanatics  of  the  North  and  South  are  equally  to  blame  for  the  pre- 
sent unhappy  state  of  affairs ;  they,  in  their  fiendish  madness,  even 


72'  EXPOSITION   OF  THE 

condescend  to  drive  innocent,  helpless  women  from  their  homes, 
not  allowing  them,  in  many  instances,  to  take  their  own  ward- 
robes with  them ;  they  steal  all  the  U.  S.  property  which  they  can 
appropriate  to  their  own  use,  and  destroy  that  which  is  not  avail- 
able ;  they  burn  and  blow  up  bridges  and  public  buildings ;  they 
issue  bogus  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  such  sterling  patriots  as 
Nelson  and  Johnson ;  they  concoct  secret  schemes  to  arm  the  se- 
cessionists of  such  states  as  Kentuck}^  and  Maryland,  to  the  end 
of  dragging  them  forcibly  out  of  the  Union;  they  locate  secret 
agents  in  the  Border  States  to  assist  in  conveying  arms,  provisions, 
etc.,  into  the  seceded  states,  to  destroy  lives  and  property,  and 
violate  female  virtue :  they  send  agents  to  Europe  to  misrepresent 
the  true  state  of  affairs  in  this  country,  and  to  induce  foreign 
powers  to  assist  them  in  destroying  this  government.  Is  there  not 
a  day  of  retribution  ? 


CHAPTER  X 


What  the  K.  G.  C.  intend  to  do  with  their  Government  should 

THEY    SUCCEED    IN    THEIR    DeSIGNS THE   RENEWAL  OF  THE   SlAVE 

Trade — the  Reasons  why  nothing  is  said  of  Slave  Trade  now 
— the  Establishment  of  an  Aristocracy — the  War  of  1861  — 
Northern  depreciation  of  Southern  Strength. 

Having  traced  the  movements  of  the  S.  R.  C.  from  1834  to  1855, 
and  having  considered  its  metamorphosis,  at  the  latter  period,  into 
the  K.  G.  C.,  and  its  subsequent  movements  in  the  political  arena 
up  to  the  present  day,  I  will  now  lay  before  the  reader's  mind  the 
anticipations  of  the  secessionists  in  the  future. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Knights  have,  by  no  means,  forgotten  their 
original  pet  idea  of  slave  stealing.  This  was  the  substratum  upon 
which  their  mud-sills  were  laid  in  the  beginning,  and,  although 
obscured  by  the  foam  of  the  secession  cauldron  for  the  present, , 
will  be  brought  out  in  full  relief,  in  case  the  secessionists  succeed 
in  the  establishment  of  a  new  government.  Every  member  of  the 
Inner  Temple  of  the  K.  G.  C.  is  an  advocate  of  the  slave  trade, 
and  so  soon  as  opportunity  is  afforded,  will  make  zealous,  per- 
sistent efforts  for  its  re-establishment.  The  castle  was  divided  into 
an  Outer  and  Inner  Temj)le,  in  the  first  place,  in  order  that  there 
might  be,  in  the  former,  a  place  of  rendezvous  for  secessionists, 
whether  for  or  against  the  foreign  black  traffic,  and  in  the  latter 
a  place  of  refuge  for  the  known  and  proved  friends  of  the  slave 
piracy.  Whenever  you  come  in  contact  with  an  Inner  Templar, 
and  broach  the  subject  of  the  foreign  traffic,  he  talks  to  you  in  the 
following  style : 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  7S 

""We,  who  have  made  the  subject  of  slavery  a  study,  know  that 
it  is  an  institution  which  must  be  either  on  the  increase  or  de- 
crease; that  it  must  either  continue  to  grow  in  extent  and  power, 
or  ultimately  become  extinct.  We  already  have  more  territory 
than  we  have  boys  to  cultivate  it  in  the  proper  manner.  There 
are  thousands  of  acres  of  the  very  best  of  cotton  land  in  many 
of  the  Gulf  States  untouched.  The  Border  Slave  State  supply  of 
negroes  has  never  been  anything  like  equal  to  the  Cotton  State 
demand.  But  further,  we  intend  to  have  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  cer- 
tain portions  of  Central  America;  and,  consequently,  there  will 
be  a  great  increase  in  the  demand  for  slaves.  How  are  we  to  get 
them,  otherwise  than  by  a  resort  to  Africa?  By  going  there,  we 
can  get  them  much  cheaper,  and  in  greater  quantities,  than  we 
can  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  Besides  this,  we  can  pro- 
cure better  slaves  in  Africa  than  we  can  in  America.  The  'nig- 
gers' we  get  in  the  Border  Slave  States  are  generally  very  inferior 
as  servants,  and  especially  so  as  field-hands.  Many  of  them  are, 
in  consequence  of  their  large  admixture  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood, 
lazy,  stubborn,  and  insubordinate.  They  are,  also,  shorter  lived 
than  the  genuine  African,  and  can  not  endure  the  labor  in  the 
cotton  fields  as  he  does.  So  far  as  the  moral  part  of  the  negro 
traffic  is  concerned,  there  certainly  is  less  sin  in  buying  and  sell- 
ing the  genuine  Guinea  kinky-head  than  there  is  in  trading  in 
those  of  their  American  descendants,  whose  veins  contain  much 
of  our  own  blood,  if  there  be  any  sin  in  it  at  all." 

These  are  the  arguments  that  the  Inner  Templars  present  in 
favor  of  its  re-establishment;  and  if  the  institution  of  slavery  be 
right,  or  if  it  be  even  tolerable  in  a  republic,  they  are  unanswer- 
able, I  have  cited  them  to  show  the  tendency  of  the  anticipated 
Southern  Government,  and  to  prove  that,  should  they  once  cut 
loose  from  the  United  States,  the  fire-eaters  will  never  rest  easy 
until  they  have  renewed  the  slave  piracy. 

Perhaps  it  will  here  be  asked,  why  the  Montgomery  Congress 
voted  so  largely  against  the  introduction  of  this  doctrine  into  the 
Confederate  Constitution,  if  they  really  indorsed  it?  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  reasons:  First.  They  knew  the  Border  Slave 
States,  whose  main  dependence  was  the  Southern  negro-market, 
never  could  be  induced  to  ratify  a  constitution  which  allowed  of 
the  African  plave  trade.  Second.  They  were  convinced  that  it 
would  be  folly  to  hope  to  secure  the  sympathy  of  any  European 
power  under  such  circumstances.  In  their  then  weak  condition 
they  knew  that  to  renew  the  foreign  traffic  would  be  to  shut  out 
all  hope  of  the  successful  attainment  of  their  designs.  But  no 
Booner  will  their  government  be  established,  than  all  their  ener- 
gies will  be  turned  to  that  end. 

In  the  second  place,  the  leaders  of  this  rebellion  have  never 
anticipated,  what  many  persons  have  supposed  they  did,  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  government  composed  exclusively  of  the  Southern 
States.     They  know  full  well  that  such  a  government  could  not 


74  EXPOSITION   OF  THE 

long  exist.  It  has  been  their  intention,  from  the  beginning,  to 
secure  the  annexation  of  all  the  great  Middle  and  Northwestern 
States,  or,  at  least,  a  great  portion  of  them.  Without  the  co-oper- 
ation of  those  Northern  States  which  lie  along  the  lower  Ohio 
and  Mississippi,  their  produce  trade  would  be  seriously  impaired, 
and  likely  to  be  suspended  at  any  time.  Of  the  Southern  and 
Northwestern  States  they  intended  to  form  what  they  term  a 
limited  aristocracy — a  government  which  has  been,  for  years, 
considered  by  the  nabobs  of  the  South  as  far  better  and  more  per- 
manent than  a  republic.  ^lany  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
South  have  told  me  that  they  had  regarded  the  present  form  of 
the  American  Government  as  a  failure,  for  a  long  time  ;  that  it 
had,  almost  from  the  very  beginning,  manifested  a  great  lack  of 
power  and  efficiency.  This  idea  may  truly  seem  strange,  when  it 
is  remembered  that  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  Southern  man,  was  the 
father  of  Democracy;  that  he,  with  almost  all  the  Southern  states- 
men of  his  time,  waged  an  uncompromising  war  against  the  more 
centralizing  doctrines  of  Federalism ;  and  that,  from  his  day  to 
1856,  the  stronghold  of  Democracy  has  been  the  South.  The  aris- 
tocracy alluded  to  is  to  be  governed  by  a  dictator,  who  may  hold 
his  office  for  life,  unless  deposed  by  the  Congress.  None  but  the 
wealthy  are  to  be  allowed  a  vote,  and  no  one  who  is  not  known 
to  have  large  interests  in  slave  property  is  to  be  allowed  to  hold 
any  office;  and  none  but  the  most  genuine  of  the  chivalry  are  to 
be  allowed  a  seat  in  the  Confederate  Parliament.  These  latter, 
when  proved  and  chosen,  are,  like  the  dictator,  to  be  allowed  to 
continue  in  office  for  life,-  and  when  they  die,  their  successors 
are  to  be  chosen  from  among  their  descendants.  In  short,  the 
intention  of  the  secessionists  is  to  have  a  more  powerful  mon- 
archy than  that  of  England.  The  steps  toAvard  its  consummation 
are,  however,  to  be  gradual  Yiy  thus  wresting  the  power  of  the 
government  from  the  people,  and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
aristocracy,  they  could  re-open  the  slave-trade,  and  carry  on  ag- 
gressive and  acquisitive  wars  to  any  desirable  extent. 

What  change  may  have  been  effected  in  the  designs  of  the 
K.  G.  C.  since  the  unanimous  uprising  of  all  the  Free  States,  and 
the  apparent  division  in  many  of  the  Border  Slave  States,  1  know 
not,  but  certain  I  am  that  they  still  contemplate  the  establishment 
of  a  government  vastly  more  centralized  than  the  one  we  now  live 
under.  Without  the  constant  aid  of  a  standing  army  and  an 
efficient  navy,  no  power  composed  of  Slave  States  can,  for  a  day, 
maintain  itself 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  present  revolution  is  not  only 
intended  to  sunder  the  bonds  that  bind  the  Union  together,  but 
to  prove  the  experiment  of  self-government  a  failure,  and  to  crush 
at  once,  and  forever,  the  last  remaining  hope  of  freedom  to  the 
world.  The  military  discipline  So  strictly  enforced  in  the  "Arti- 
cles of  War"  promulgated  by  the  "American  Legion"  of  the 
K.  G.  C,  has  strict  reference  to  the  continual  use  which  is  to  be 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   GOLDEN   CIRCLE.  l9 

made  of  it  hereafter.  No  candidate  is  admitted  into  the  Order 
without  he  declares,  most  emphatically,  that  he  will  "strictly  ob- 
serve" these  "Articles  of  War,  as  promulgated  by  the  Legion." 

The  question  noTV  to  be  asked  by  every  true  American  citizen 
is — Shall  I,  while  life  remains,  gubmit  to  the  establishment  of  a 
power  which  has  for  its  sole  object  the  destruction  of  that  liberty 
which  cost  the  Revolutionary  fathers  their  fortunes  and  their  lives  ? 

The  American  Government  is  now  threatened  by  an  enemy  far 
more  dangerous  than  any  it  has  hitherto  contended  with.  All  the 
foreign  powers  of  the  world  combined  would  not  be  so  much  to 
be  dreaded  as  the  internal  foe  we  now  have  to  contend  with. 
There  is,  therefore,  no  time  to  be  spent  in  foolish,  timid  regrets ; 
no  hours  to  be  wasted  in  deploring  the  "  condition  of  the  country," 
but  every  moment  and  every  power  is  to  be  unreservedly  given  to 
the  most  vigorous  action.  The  man  who  does  not  prefer  death  to 
the  loss  of  his  liberty  and  the  destruction  of  the  institutions  of 
such  a  country  as  ours,  is  unworthy  the  name  and  privileges  of  an 
American  citizen,  and  unfit  for  any  other  society  than  that  of 
South  Carolina.  I  have  no  patience  %vith  those  persons  who  are 
always  regretting  this  war,  and  longing  for  peace.  The  war  is  one 
of  the  greatest  of  necessities,  and  no  permanent  peace  can  be 
rationally  hoped  for  but  through  the  successful  use  of  the  rifles 
and  bayonets  of  the  United  States  troops.  The  man  who  cannot 
see  this  is  either  a  fool  or  a  cowardly  traitor.  The  idea  advanced 
by  a  few  that  it  would  be  better  to  "  let  the  South  alone"  than  to 
shed  the  blood  of  oitr  brethren^  or  sacrifice  our  own  lives  and 
fortunes,  if  it  be  honestly  declared,  can  come  from  none  other 
than  the  most  ignorant  and  short-sighted  of  men.  Let  us  suppose, 
for  a  moment,  that  the  South  were  "let  alone;"  all  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi commerce  is  under  its  supreme  control ;  the  Southern 
aristocracy  can  exact  just  such  duties  of  us  as  they  please,  and 
we  must  submit,  or  else  be  involved  in  a  fight ;  the  K.  G.  C.  can 
carry  forward  their  acquisitive  wars  southwardly,  and  re-open  the 
slave  trade,  and  we  dare  not  open  our  mouths ;  and,  worst  of  all, 
we  will  ever  be  regarded  by  them  as  the  most  contemptible  cow- 
ards in  the  world.  This  is  already  the  case,  to  a  very  considerable 
extent;  and  no  hope  need  be  indulged  of  securing  even  ordinary 
respect  among  them  but  by  administering  to  them  such  a  chastise- 
ment as  shall  make  them  remember  us. 

The  present  revolution  cannot  be  more  productive  of  suffering 
and  privations  than  the  first  one  was.  Our  fathers  began  the  war 
for  their  liberties  with  an  empty  treasury,  few  men,  few  arms,  and 
scarcely  any  n-avy  at  all.  We,  on  the  other  hand,  have  a  full 
treasury,  a  large  surplus  of  men,  more  provisions  than  we  can 
consume,  plenty  of  arms,  and  can  soon  have  an  efficient  navy. 
Who,  then,  shall  stand  back  and  cry  "  peace,"  or  counsel  InactiYity 
and  delay  in  this,  our  day  of  peril? 

As  to  the  shedding  of  "brother's  blood,"  I  have  this  to  say;  he 


76  EXPOSITION    OF   THE 

who  lifts  his  traitorous  arm  to  strike  at  the  American  government^ 
be  he  brother  or  stranger,  is  justly  deserving  of  death,  and  no 
tears  should  be  shed  over  his  grave.  If  every  man,  women,  and 
child  in  the  South  has  to  die,  it  were  far  better  than  to  allow  the 
union  of  these  states  to  be  destroyed.  The  dissolution  of  the 
American  Union  is  the  destruction  of  the  whole  North  American 
continent.  The  idea  of  the  existence  of  two  governments  in  this 
country,  so  opposite  to  each  other  as  those  which  would  result 
from  a  division  of  the  Northern  from  the  Southern  sections,  is  the 
most  nonsensical  of  all  absurdities,  and  can  only  be  conceived  in 
the  brain  of  a  political  idiot.  The  man  who  has  heretofore  enjoyed 
the  benefits  of  the  best  government  on  earth,  anji  who  now  seeks 
to  destroy  it  by  making  war  upon  it,  is  worse  than  any  foreign 
enemy. 

The  political  aristocrats  of  the  South,  although  now  pretending 
to  the  world  that  they  only  wish  to  be  "let  alone,"  are  really  aim- 
ing at  the  subjugation  of  the  North.  Nearly  ever  since  the  birth 
of  the  republic,  they  have  had  almost  complete  control  of  it,  and 
arc  now  stung  to  the  quick  by  the  consciousness  that  the  Northern 
States  have  at  last  shown  a  disposition  to  take  a  hand  in  its 
management.  The  politicians  of  the  South  have  always  believed 
that  the  people  of  the  Free  States  were  "  too  ignorant,  cowardly, 
and  selfish"  to  have  a  controlling  voice  in  the  hall"  of  legislation. 
They  have  so  long  fostered  this  idea  that  they  have,  finally,  come 
to  the  couclusion  that  all  that  is  grovelling  and  degrading  in 
human  nature  belongs  to  the  North.  Whereas,  on  the  other  hand, 
all  that  is  ennobling  and  great  is  indigenous  to  the  South.  They 
"have  all  the  talent,  bravery,  and  generosity;"  we  have  all  the 
ignorance,  cowardice,  and  selfishness.  To  use  a  Hoosier  phrase, 
a  sound  thrashing  is  really  the  only  thing  that  can  ever  induce 
the  fire-eaters  to  correct  these  views,  and  the  sooner  it  is  adminis- 
tered the  better. 

The  Southern  people  never  had  a  proper  appreciation  of  our 
superior  industrial  and  educational  institutions.  Their  descend- 
ancy  from  "noble"  stock,  their  inheritance  of  "sacred"  relics, 
and  their  absolvence  from  all  kinds  of  labor  have,  in  their  estima- 
tion, elevated  them  far  above  the  "menials"  of  the  North,  and 
given  them  a  rightful  claim  to  the  management  of  this  govern- 
ment. Northern  courage  and  Northern  bayonets  will  remove 
these  false  notions — nothing  else  will. 

For  years  the  people  of  the  Free  States  have,  for  the  sake  of 
preserving  peace  with  their  brethren  of  the  South,  humbled  them- 
selves in  the  very  dust  before  the  altar  of  slavery,  and  displayed  a 
subserviency  which  is  even  sickening  to  contemplate.  No  wonder 
they  concluded  that  one  Southern  man  could  whip  from  five  to  a 
dozen  Northerners,  when,  with  a  population  hardly  one-fifth  as  great 
as  ours,  they  have  had  almost  the  entire  control  of  the  government 
from  its  infancy  up.  Let  us  redeem  our  character,  and  establish 
our  just  claims,  at  every  hazard. 


KNIGHTS  OP  THE   GOLDEN   CIIICLE.  77 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  MiLiTAiiY  Character  of  the  K.  G.  C. — ''George  "Washington 
Lafayette  Bickley" — What  the  South  can  do;  what  we  must 

DO,  ETC. 

As  I  have  before  intimated,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle 
are  "some  military."  Ever  since  1855,  when  that  lofty  specimen 
of  Boone  county  "chivalry,"  "George  Washington  Lafayette 
Bickley,"  applied  all  the  powers  of  his  master  genius  to  the  im- 
provement and  superior  organization  of  the  Order,  the  Knights 
nave  practiced  regular  military  drill.  For  his  untiring  efforts  in 
this  regard,  the  said  George  AVashington  Lafayette  Bickley  has 
been  created  president  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  "  American 
Legion."  The  object  of  the  military  exercises,  or,  as  they  are 
commonly  called,  "Articles  of  War,"  was  to  prepare  for  the  "im- 
pending crisis."  Every  castle  is,  in  truth,  a  regular  military 
company,  the  State  Legions  are  brigades,  and  the  American  Legion 
is  an  array.  No\r,  when  we  come  to  consider  that  thousands  of 
castles  have  been  drilling  two  and  three  times  per  week,  for  several 
years,  wo  must  at  once  acknowledge  that  their  influence  in  the 
present  revolution  will  be  considerable. 

However  much  persons  may  be  disposed  to  ridicule  the  idea  of 
any  just  apprehension  of  danger  from  the  military  operations  of 
the  K.  G.  C.,  I  can  assure  them  that  they  will  prove  a  more  for- 
midable foe  than  any  outsider  has  yet  presumed.  Their  long 
course  of  training  and  preparation,  their  well-matured,  deep-laid 
plans,  and  their  unscrupulous  dishonesty,  render  them  capable  of 
effecting  far  more  than  any  one  not  acquainted  with  their  organ- 
ization would  expect  of  them. 

The  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  are  the  secessionists  proper, 
and  their  history  is  the  history  of  secession.  From  a  small  and 
insignificant  band  of  kidnappers  and  fiUibusters,  they  have  grad- 
ually increased  their  numbers  until  they  are  to  be  counted  by 
thousands  in  the  Southern  States  of  the  Union,  and  by  dozens  in 
the  Border  Free  States.  Many  of  these  latter  are  at  this  time  in 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  New  York,  Albany,  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis, 
New  Albany,  Evansville,  Cairo,  and  other  border  cities.  As  I 
have  before  said,  they  are  the  most  dangerous  of  enemies.  Some 
of  them  being  native  born,  are  not  suspicioned.  The  sign  of 
recognition  and  the  response  are  never  given  in  a  Free  State, 
unless  the  parties  giving  them  know  each  other  well,  and  are  so 
situated  that  their  communications  will  not  be  detected.  They 
may  be  justl}%  suspicioned,  however,  from  the  following  expres- 


78  EXPOSITION  OP  THB 

Bions,  all  of  'which  are  knightish:  "The  South  only  wants  her 
rights;"  "Better  let  them  go,  than  involve  ourselves  in  a  war 
which  will  cost  us  more  than  the  South  is  worth;"  "0,  dear  me  I 
the  EXPENSES  of  this  war !  "  "  What  will  the  people  say  when  it 
comes  to  paying  the  heavy  taxes?"  "The  South  can  never  be  su6- 
jugated  /'  "I  never  will  enlist  to  fight  my  brethren  of  the  South; " 
(brethren  means  brethren  in  the  real  knightish  sense;)  "The 
country  's  in  an  awful  condition — we  '11  never  be  as  we  were, 
again.'  Sometimes  an  editor  of  the  Knights'  school  ventures  to 
condemn  the  ''  mobocracy  of  the  North,''  without  saying  anything 
of  the  mobbing  proclivities  of  the  South.  At  other  times,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  editor  of  the  I.  S.  G.,  he  gives  Webster's  definition 
of  the  term  slbjugate,  and  then,  as  his  only  comment,  asks  the 
question,  "Can  eleven  States,  with  a  population  of  three  millions 
of  people,  ever  be  subjugated  f"  Let  every  one  who  talks  thus  be 
closely  watched. 

In  conversing  with  many  hopeful  friends  of  the  Union,  since 
my  return  from  the  South,  I  find  the  confidence  in  the  superior 
numbers  of  the  loyal  troops,  and  the  greater  wealth  of  the  North, 
entirely  too  great.  I  also  notice  that  the  numbers,  power,  and 
resources  of  the  South  are  too  much  underrated.  The  impression, 
in  fact,  seems  to  be  entirely  too  general,  that  the  secessionists,  in 
consequence  of  their  limited  means,  scarcity  of  provisions,  inferior 
numbers,  and  unholy  cause,  can  endure  but  a  short  time.  I  am 
truly  sorry  that  this  idea  has  obtained  to  the  extent  that  it  has, 
calculated  as  it  is,  in  its  very  nature,  to  prove  more  or  less  disas- 
trous to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

In  the  first  place,  as  has  been  shown,  the  Confederate  States 
have  nearly  all  the  arms  contained  in  the  Government  arsenals  in 
the  early  part  of  1860,  to  which,  by  an  arrangement  made  in  the 
early  part  of  the  spring  of  1861,  have  been  added  a  heavy  cargo 
of  the  latest  and  most  improved  European  arms — about  twenty 
thousand;  and  having  seized  nearly  all  the  Southern  forts,  they 
have  secured  the  greater  number  of  our  best,  heaviest  ordnance, 
and,  therefore,  are  even  better  supplied  in  these  regards  than  we 
are.  In  the  second  place,  they  have  more  provisions  than  has 
generally  been  supposed.  During  the  whole  of  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1861,  steamboats  and  fiats  have  been  employed  by  the 
seore  in  conveying  the  heaviest  loads  of  provisions  from  the  great 
Northwestern  States;  and  from  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  in 
New  Orleans,  and  other  river  towns,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt 
that  many  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  South  have  provisions 
enough  stored  away  to  supply  their  citizens  several  years.  In 
addition  to  this,  every  effort  will  now  be  made  to  increase  the  com 
and  wheat  crops  in  all  the  Southern  States.  For  a  time,  at  least, 
they  will  forget  King  Cotton,  and  pay  more  attention  to  Emperor 
Corn.  Further,  the  Confederates  will,  without  doubt,  make  the 
strongest  efforts  to  put  those  stealing  schemes,  described  in  pre- 
vious pages,  into  vigorous  execution,  many  of  which  will,  in  aU 


KNIGHTS  OP  THE   GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  79 

probability,  succeed,  on  their  immediate  borders.  In  tin  third 
place,  respecting  numbers,  they  can,  without  any  doubt,  muster 
two  hundred  thousand  fighting  men  into  the  field — men  of  the 
most  desperate  and  reckless  character,  who  care  less  for  life  than 
they  do  for  a  meal's  victuals;  men  of  the  rough,  lower  Mississippi 
order,  who  have,  almost  from  childhood,  been  accustomed  to  mur- 
der and  bloodshed;  men  who,  although  naturally  cowards,  would 
rather  die  a  thousand  times  than  have  the  name  of  being  whipped. 
In  the  fourth  and  last  place,  as  to  the  cause,  the  leaders  of  this 
great  rebellion  are  fully  conscious  that,  with  them,  the  issue  is 
life  or  death ;  that,  if  conquered,  their  lives  will  be  terminated  in 
the  most  shameful  manner,  and  their  names  handed  down  to  all 
coming  generations  as  traitors  of  the  blackest  stamp;  that  their 
children,  after  them,  for  many  generations,  will  be  disgraced  by 
the  deeds  of  their  sires,  and  that  their  names  will  never  be  men- 
tioned in  history  or  spoken  of  by  men  otherwise  than  as  are  the 
names  of  Arnold  and  Burr. 

Keflections  such  as  these  are  the  most  powerful  incentives  to 
bold  and  determined  action  that  can  be  presented  to  human  pride 
and  ambition  anywhere,  and,  to  the  aristocratic  leaders  of  the 
South,  they  will  prove  especially  so.  The  struggle,  on  their  part, 
therefore,  will  be  powerful  and  desperate;  such  a  struggle  as 
could  be  manifested  by  men  in  no  other  condition  or  circumstances. 
Every  efibrt  in  the  field,  every  stratagem  which  they  are  capable 
of  inventing,  and  every  species  of  incendiary  destruction,  will  be 
applied  in  the  most  vigorous  manner.  Meantime,  the  history  of 
the  first  American  Revolution  should  not  be  forgotten.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  in  streng-th  and  resources  the  American 
colonies  were  vastly  inferior  to  the  government  of  Great  Britain, 
and  yet  we  conquered  our  independence.  Let  none  of  the  revolu- 
tionary lessons  of  the  past  be  overlooked.  It  is  never  a  good 
policy  to  undervalue  the  strength  and  the  chances  of  a  foe,  if  one 
would  be  sure  of  a  victory.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  far  better  to 
overestimate  them.  The  greatest  gold  mines  in  the  world  are 
found  by  looking  downward,  not  upward,  and  it  is  always  danger- 
ous in  passing  through  a  wood  to  overlook  the  stones  and  stubbs 
in  gazing  intently  at  the  spreading  tops  of  the  tall  trees. 

But  while  we  concede  to  the  South  all  that  is  due  it,  in  the  way 
of  strength,  facilities,  and  courage,  let  us  not  forget  our  own  power. 
Nor  should  we  forget  the  glory  of  the  cause  in  which  we  have 
enlisted:  the  preservation  of  this  great  government,  and  the  perpe- 
tuity of  our  liberties.  As  with  the  secessionists,  so  it  is  with  us, 
either  a  matter  of  life  or  death,  both  as  a  nation  and  as  a  people. 
The  world  has,  for  years,  been  looking  to  this  Republic  as  the  great 
beacon-light  of  liberty;  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  have  been 
long  regarding  the  land  of  Columbia  with  jealousy  and  envy, 
hoping  and  praying  that  our  great  experiment  of  self-government 
might  prove  a  failure.  In  the  mean  time,  our  glorious  example  has 
enkindled  a  burning  desire  for  liberty  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 


ZO  EXPOSITION   OF   THE    KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN    CIRCLR. 

of  every  surrounding  nation,  and  caused  them  to  revolutionize 
their  despotisms,  destroy  their  feudalisms,  modify  their  monarchies, 
and  improve  their  aristocracies.  The  great  ball  of  freedom  which 
our  fathers  set  rolling,  has  even  reached  the  very  heart  of  old 
hierarchal  Rome,  and,  by  the  master-strokes  of  the  immortal 
Garibaldi,  the  Papal  throne  has  been  shaken  to  its  very  center, 
and  tyrants  have  been  made  to  quake  at  the  rapid  strides  of  the 
Genius  of  Liberty.  Our  own  glorious  America  has  advanced  in 
civilization,  in  science,  arts,  improvements,  and  wealth,  to  an  ex- 
tent unequaled  anywhere  or  at  any  time  in  the  world's  history; 
the  American  flag  has  become  an  emblem  of  glory  and  protection 
wherever  it  waves,  whether  on  land  or  sea,  and  the  American 
citizen  is  honored  and  respected  by  all  nations  of  people. 

The  memories  of  the  llevolutionary  fathers,  their  unprecedented 
trials  and  unequaled  victories,  have  not  yet  become  extinct,  nor 
their  invigorating  influence  lost.  Our  gray-haired  sires  and  aged 
mothers,  as  they  totter  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  with  their  souls 
weighed  with  despair,  and  their  hearts  pierced  with  regret,  turn 
with  feeble  though  earnest  voice,  and  entreat  us  to  maintain  invio- 
late the  rich  inheritance  bequeathed  us  by  the  Grandsires  of 
Seventy-six;  our  Avivcs,  our  sisters,  our  children,  with  their  souls 
fraught  with  the  remembrance  of  past  blessings,  demand  of  us  a 
continuance  of  them  in  future.  And,  last  and  greatest  of  all, 
God,  who  cleft  the  waters  of  the  Red  ^ea,  and  rolled  them  to  the 
right  hand  and  to  the  left,  causing  his  liberated  children  to  walk 
safely  and  surely  from  under  the  galling  yoke  of  Egypt's  tyrant 
to  the  wilderness  of  freedom;  God,  who  fought  the  battles  of  Israel, 
and  secured  to  it  the  land  of  promise;  God,  who  liberated  the 
world  from  sin  by  the  gift  of  his  only-begotten  Hon;  God,  who 
nerved  the  arm  of  the  immortal  Luther  to  the  breaking  of  the 
Papal  chains  of  Europe  and  the  defense  of  religious  freedom; 
God,  who  directed  the  Puritan  fathers  from  under  the  oppressive 
hand  of  Britain  to  the  wilderness  of  North  America;  God,  who 
heard  the  prayers  of  Washington,  fought  the  battles  of  American 
Independence,  secured  to  us  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  gave 
to  us  this  great  land,  with  its  innumerable,  invaluable  blessings; 
God,  who  has  always  been  the  friend  of  freedom,  and  the  foe  of 
oppression,  commands  us  to  move  forward  in  defense  of  the 
right,  the  maintenance  of  our  government,  and  the  vindication 
of  its  flag.  These  are  02ir  incentives,  and  while  they  are  not  cal- 
culated to  render  us  so  desperate,  brutal,  and  blood-thirsty  as 
those  which  incite  the  followers  of  Lucifer,  yet  they  are  fraught 
with  that  patriotic  glory,  virtuous  enthusiasm,  and  holy  luster 
which  render  the  soldier  under  their  influence  invincible.  Then, 
let  every  one  of  the  thousands  who  are  marching  under  the  Banner 
OF  THE  Free  be  fully  imbued  with  the  great  fact  that  he  is  fighting 
in  tlie  cause  of  humanity  and  the  cause  of  God. 

THE  END, 


TIEIE     I^ITXJ-A.IL. 


OF  THE 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE. 


There  are  three  Degrees  to  the  Order;  the  first  Military,  the 
eeeond  Financial,  the  third  Governmental. 

The  ritual  of  the  First  Degree  contains  little  of  special  impor- 
tance. We  will  here  premise  that  the  reading  of  the  Ritual  is 
entirely  unintelligible  except  by  the  aid  of  keys,  a  great  many 
numerical  figures  being  substituted  for  words.  We  are  in  pos- 
session of  the  keys,  and,  in  what  we  publish  of  the  Rituals,  we 
shall  give  it  just  as  we  find  it,  putting  into  parentheses  the  mean- 
ing of  the  figures.  The  two  following  paragraphs  are  from  the 
Obligation  taken  in  the  First  Degree,  the  words  of  the  first  being 
spoken  by  the  Treasurer,  and  those  of  the  second  by  an  officer 
called  the  Captain: 

Treasurer.  Gentlemen,  we  must  now  tell  you  that  the  first 
field  of  our  operations  is  2  (Mexico;)  but  we  hold  it  to  be  our 
duty  to  offer  our  services  to  any  Southern  State  to  repel  a  Nor- 
thern army.  We  hope  such  a  contingency  may  not  occur.  But 
whether  the  Union  is  reconstructed  or  not,  the  Southern  States 
must  foster  any  scheme  having  for  its  object  the  Americanization 
and  Southernization  of  2  (Mexico,)  so  that  in  either  case  our 
success  will  be  certain. 

Captain.  Under  the  laws  of  2  (Mexico,)  every  emigrant  re- 
ceives from  the  State  authorities  a  grant  of  G40  acres  of  land. 
Under  a  treaty  closed  with  3,  (Manuel  Doblado,  Governor  of  Gu- 
anajuato,) on  the  11th  of  February,  1860,  we  are  invited  to  colo- 
ndze  in  2,  (Mexico,)  to  enable  the  best  people  there  to  establish  a 
permanent  government.  We  agree  to  introduce  a  force  of  16.000 
men.  armed,  equipped  and  provided,  and  to  take  the  field  under 

6 


82  KITCAL  OF  THE 

the  command  of  3,  (Manuel  Doblado,  Governor  of  Guanajuato,) 

who  agrees  to  furnish  an  equal  number  of  men  to  be  officered  by 
K.  G,  C.'s.  To  cover  the  original  expenses  of  arming  our  forces, 
there  is  mortgaged  to  our  trustees  the  right  to  collect  one-half  the 
annual  revenues  of  4,  (Guanajuato,)  until  we  are  paid  the  sum 
of  $840,000.  As  a  bonus  there  is  also  ceded  to  us  355,000  acres 
of  land.  The  pay  of  the  army  is  the  same  as  the  -regular  army 
of  2,  (Mexico,)  which  is  about  one-eighth  more  than  that  of  the 
United  States.  To  secure  this,  there  is  mortgaged  to  us  all  the 
public  property  of  4,  (Guanajuato,)  amounting  in  taxable  value 
to  $23,000,006.  3  (Manuel  Doblado,  Governor  of  Guanajuato,) 
is  now  there,  making  arrangements  for  our  reception.  We  shall 
cross  over  as  soon  as  possible,  after  our  national  troubles  are 
settled. 

I  will  now  give  you  the  signs,  grips,  password  and  token  of  the 
First  Degree  of  the  K.  C.  G.  (Of  course  a  misprint  for  K.  G.  C.) 
This  Degree  has  a  name,  which  I  may  now  give  you  —  it  is  the 
"  1,"  (Knight  of  the  Iron  Hand.)  The  first  great  sign  of  the 
Order  is  thus  made,  7,  (Hands  open,  palms  touching  and  resting 
on  the  top  of  the  head,  fingers  pointed  upwards.)  The  answer  to 
this  is  8,  (open  hands  touching  shoulder  where  epaulettes  are 
worn;  elbows  close  to  the  side.)  These  are  battle-field  signs,  and 
are  not  to  be  used  under  ordinary  circumstances.  The  common 
sign  of  recognition  is  9,  (right  forefinger  drawn  across  upper 
lip  under  nose,  as  if  rubbing.)  The  answer  10,  (with  forefinger 
and  thumb  of  left  hand  take  hold  of  left  ear.)  To  gain  admis- 
sion to  a  working  Castle,  or  the  room  of  any  K.  G.  C.,  give  11, 
(one  distinct  rap)  at  the  door.  The  Sentinel  on  duty  will  then 
raise  the  wicket  and  demand  the  countersign,  which  is  12,  (SOL- 
DIERS, always  lettered  except  at  Castle  door.)  You  will  tken 
pass  to  the  center  of  the  room  and  give  the  true  sign  of  the  K. 
G.  C;  it  is  13,  (left  hand  on  heart,  right  hand  raised.)  This  will 
be  recognized  by  a  bow  from  the  Captain,  when  you  will  at  once 
take  your  seat.  The  sign  of  assent  is  14,  (both  hands  up;)  ot 
dissent  15,  (one  hand  up;)  the  grip  is  16,  (press  with  thumb  one 
inch  above  second  knuckle;)  the  token  17,  (Golden  Circle  encas- 
ing block,  hands  closed  on  scroll ;  the  whole  to  be  the  size  of  a 
dime.)     Every  member  may  wear  the  sign  of  his  degree. 

And  now,  reader,  you  know  as  much  about  the  signs,  grips, 
tokens,  &c.,  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  as  they  them- 
selves do.  We  may  here  remark  that  the  initiation  fee  for  the 
First  Degree  is  one  dollar,  for  the  Second  five  dollars,  for  the 
Third  ten. 

From  the  Second  or  Financial  Degree  we  need  give  but  little. 
The  following  is  the  closing  part  of  the  initiation : 

Captain.  The  hoad  (juarters  of  this  organization  are  at  23, 
CMonterey,)  where  most  of  the  stores  and  munitions  are   depos- 


fcMGHTS  OP  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  83 

ited.     The  Financial  head  quarters  are  at ;  Col.  N.  J.  Scott 

is  at  present  Financial  Chairman.  "*  *  * 

Inspector.        -sfr  *  * 

Lieutenant.     *  *  * 

Captain.  I  shall  now  give  you  the  unwritten  parts  of  this 
work,  and  I  trust  you  will  be  careful  in  its  use.  If  a  general  war 
ensues,  we  shall  dispense  with  the  First  Degree,  and  rely  on  this 
and  the  Third. 

Name — 18  (True  Faith:)  sign — 25  (fore  finger  and  thumb  of 
right  hands  joined,  while,  with  the  rest  of  the  hand  upon  the 
right  eye  is  touching  with  the  middle  finger,)  answer — 26  (same 
with  left  hand  and  left  eye:)  password  27  (Monterey:)  night  word 
of  distress — 32  (St.  Mary:)  response — 31  and  say  5  (grasp  by 
wrist  and  say  Kio  Grande:)  emblem — 28  (gold  circle  encasing 
Greek  cross,  in  center  of  which  is  star.)  This  is  the  29  (key)  to 
our  30  (secret  alphabet:)  use  of  33  (K.  G.  C.)  56  (George  Bick- 
ley:)  guard  sign  ^  28  (gold  circle  encasing  Greek  cross,  in  center 
of  which  is  a  star:)  silence  25  (fore  finger  and  thumb  of  right 
hand  joined,  while  with  the  rest  of  the  hand  open  the  right  eye 
is  touching  on  middle  finger)  on  lips :  danger — right — same  with 
left. 

And  now  it  remains  for  us  to  give  the  Ritual  of  the  Third  De- 
gree, which,  as  being  the  most  important,  we  shall  publish  almost 
entire.  We  have  not  the  time  or  space  for  commenting  on  it  now. 
Every  citizen  can  judge  of  it  for  himself  The  Eoman  Catholics, 
and  the  foreign  born  population,  will  see  how  they  are  proscribed 
by  this  mysterious  Order,  this  central  and  guiding  power  of  the 
secession  and  disunion  party.  All  will  see,  too,  that  the  Order 
declares  for  a  Monarchy,  a  Limited  Monarchy,  as  they  call  it, 
until  all  their  purposes  in  regard  to  Mexico  shall  have  been  ac- 
complished, and  we  need  not  suggest  how  brief  will  be  the  period 
within  which,  if  they  get  their  Limited  Monarchy,  they  will  make 
it  an  Absolute  Monarchy. 

Third  or  Political  Degree  of  the  33  (K.  G.  C.) — named  57 
(Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star.) 

Instructions  :  Officers  of  the  Council  shall  be  a  Governor  and 
a  Secretary.  Every  57  (Knight  of  the  Columbian  Star)  is  quali- 
fied to  act  in  either  capacity. 

Qualifications  for  Membership. 

Candidate  must  be  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  two  former 
Degrees;  must  have  been  born  in  58  (a  Slave  State,)  or  if  in  59 
(a  Free  State,)  he  must  be  a  citizen;  60  (a  Protestant)  and  61 
(a  Slaveholder.)  A  candidate  who  was  born  in  58  (a  Slave  State) 
need  not  b»  61  (a  Slaveholder,)  provided  he  can  give  62  (Eviden- 
cee  of  character  as  a  Southern  man.) 


84  lilTUAL  OF  T!1K 

Object:  To  form  a  council  for  the  33  (K.  G.  C.)  and  to  organ- 
ize 63  (a  government)  for  2  (Mexico.)  No  57  (Knight  of  the  Co- 
lumbian Star)  shall  admit,  except  to  a  brother  57,  that  he  has 
this  Degree,  for  reasons  that  will  hereafter  appear.  Any  two  578 
can  confer  the  Degree  on  others,  the  oldest  57  acting  as  Governor. 

Council  Hall.        ^  *  * 

Approaching  Candidates. — Of  course  all  33  (K.  G.  C.)  know 
each  other.  There  being  two  57  in  hailing  distance  of  the  court 
house  of  said  county — that  is,  64  (within  the  county)  they  will 
confer  together  as  to  the  worthiness  of  any  33,  whom  they  may 
think  a  proper  person  to  be  made  a  57,  and,  having  agreed,  one 
or  both  of  them  will  go  to  the  person,  each  knowing  fche  other  is 
a  33,  and  tell  him  that  there  is  a  gentleman  64  (within  the  county) 
who  has  the  power  to  confer  the  Third  Degree,  and  propose  to 
him  that  all  three  shall,  or  more,  if  so  the  case  is,  go  and  apply 
for  it — telling  him  or  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  fee  will  be 
65  (ten  dollars.)  If  he  assents,  propose  a  time  and  place,  and  be 
punctual.  Let  it  not  be  exactly  the  place  where  the  degree  is  to 
be  conferred,  but  near.  The  57  (Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star) 
act  as  if  they  also  sought  the  Degree.  Also,  tell  the  candidate 
that,  as  he  or  you  may  be  rejected,  it  will  be  expected  that  he. 
will  not  mention  the  matter  to  any  one  till  the  result  is  known. 

"When  in  the  room,  the  Governor  will  take  the  Bible,  and  will 
cause  all  to  lay  their  hands  thereon,  when  each  will  repeat  after 
the  Governor  the  following 

INITIATION. 

We  three,  (or  any  other  number,  ns  the  case  may  be,)  citizeng  of  58,  (a  Slave 
State)  do  hereby  and  herein,  in  the  presence  of  each  other  and  the  Great  Jehovah, 
solemnly  and  sincerely  pledge  our  faith  and  honor  to  conceal,  and  never  reveal  to 
any  mortal  being,  save  such  as  We  know  to  be  57,  (Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star) 
any  circumstance  or  thing  that  mny  here  transpire  during  the  next  hour,  and  to 
keep  the  knowledge  of  this  hour  fcn-evcr  secret  from  all  but  57.  In  the  name  of 
God.     Amen! 

[All  take  seats.] 

BECRErAKT.  What  are  you  that  you  are  thus  leading  off  in  this  work,  with  which 
you  seem  so  familiar  ? 

GovEKNOE.  I  am,  what  you  are,  a  57  ;  you  being  the  Secretary  and  I  the  Gover- 
nor of  this  Council,  and  I  here  promise  to  conscientiously  do  my  duty  at  all  times 
while  I  hold  fellowship  with  the  33.  But,  sir,  will  you  explain  why  it  was  necea- 
Bary  to  proceed  as  we  have  ? 

Secretary.  We  th\is  proceed  because  the  laws  of  the  Order  demand  it,  and  be- 
cause the  Order  will  lose  its  efficiency  as  soon  as  it  ceases  to  be  absolutely  secret. 
It  i-s  not  permitted  that  we  shall  bo  known  to  any  person  living,  except  to  those 
who  are  57.  You  will  find  nothing  in  the  Order  of  which  to  be  ashamed.  Not 
even  the  33  must  know  who  has  thin  Degree.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  only  real  secret 
order  in  the  World.     It  must  be  kept  secret! 

Governor.  [To  Candidate.]  I  liave  a  few  questions  to  ask  you,  which  I  trust 
you  will  answer  without  reaerve,  for  I  pledge  you  my  word  as  a  man,  as  a  57,  and 
as  Governor  of  this  Council,  that  I  am  in  earnest  in  this  work,  and  would  not  have 
sought  you  out,  unless  I  had  thought  this  whole  work  would  meet  your  unquali- 
fie>d  approbatiou. 

1.  Give  me  the  sign,  password  and  grip  of  a  1  (Knight  of  the  Iron  Hand.) 

2.  Give  me  the  signs,  password  and  grip  of  ft  18  (True  Faith.) 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  85 

3    To  what  66  (Castle)  do  you  belong  ? 

4.  Where  were  you  born  ? 

6.  Where  was  your  father  and  mother  born  ? 

6.  Are  you  60  (a  Protestant)  or  67  (a  Roman  Catholic  ?) 

7.  Where  do  you  now  live  ? 

8.  Do  you  belong  to  any  other  secret  society  ? 

9.  Married  or  single  ? 

10.  Are  you  61  (a  Slaveholder  ?) 

11.  Will  you  stand  firm  in  your  obligation  to  the  33  (K.  G.  C?) 

12.  Do  you  believe  in  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

13.  Are  you  willing  to  help  in  spreading  it  ? 

Secketaey.  Judging  from  what  you  have  seen  of  the  33  Project,  and  by  what 
you  know  of  us,  are  you  now  willing  to  be  united  with  us  in  a  society  from  which 
you  can  never  resign,  but  which  can  in  no  way  compromise  you,  since  the  only  work 
and  responsibilities  we  put  on  you  are  these: 

1.  Secresy  as  to  who  the  57  are. 

2.  To  attend  every  call  of  a  Council  made  by  the  Governor  (Jeneral  of  this  State. 

3.  To  do  for  every  brother  what  every  brother  has  sworn  to  do  for  you. 

4.  To  inform  the  nearest  working  brother  known  to  you  of  danger  to  the  33  or  57. 

5.  To  exercise  a  cautious  prudence  in  counteracting  false  impressions  of  the  33, 
and  to  report  to  56,  (GJeorge  Bickley)  or  his  successor  or  successors,  any  improper 
or  dangerous  actions  you  may  know  of. 

6.  To  respond  to  the  call  of  any  brother  in  your  country. 

7.  And  never  to  speak  of  the  work  and  character  of  this  degree  of  the  -33  to  any 
one  except  57,  only  as  you  express  sentiments  taught  by  the  Order. 

We  shall  not  force  you  to  work  unless  you  desire  to  do  so,  but  on  the  call  of  five 
brothers  you  must  respond,  if  in  your  power  so  to  do.  Once  a  57,  (Knight  of  the 
Columbian  Star)  so  you  will  live  and  die,  though  no  mortal  man  may  know  it 
but  57. 

GovEHNOB.    Are  you  willing  to  proceed  ? 

[Candidate  answers,  yes.] 

ffECEETABY.     Every  knee  shall  bend  to  God,  and  every  tongue  confess  his  name. 

Governor.     Brothers,  we  will  kneel  for  prayer. 

(JovERNOR.  Mr.  Secretary,  collect  the  fees  of  this  [or  these]  candidates,  and  we 
will  proceed  in  the  work  of  initiation. 

OBLIGATION  DELIVERED  BY  GOVERNOR. 

Before  God  and  these  witnesses,  I  do  vow  that  I  will  never  reveal  the  sijns,  grips, 
passwords,  tokens  or  significants  of  the  57,  (Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star)  to  any 
man,  woman  or  child,  except  to  a  57  in  good  and  lawful  standing,  and  then  only  as 
hereafter  directed,  and  for  the  lawful  purposes  of  this  Order.  And  I  pledge  and 
commit  myself  fully  and  freely  to  each  of  the  following  obligations,  and  in  perfect 
good  faith. 

1st.  I  vow  and  promise  to  conceal  the  names  of  the  57,  fhe  objects  and  character 
thereof,  and  never  to  speak  of  the  same  as  though  I  was  a  member,  except  to  those 
who  can  give  me  our  sacred  word  in  stich  a  way  as  to  satisfy  me  they  are  57. 

2d.  No  matter  what  secrets  may  be  given  to  me  by  a  c7,  if  given  as  the  secret  of 
a  57,  and  because  I  am  one,  I  will  hold  the  same  Eacrodly  in  my  own  knowledge, 
and  never  communicate  it,  even  to  a  57,  (Knight  of  the  Columbian  Star)  unless 
authorized  so  to  do  by  the  brother  whose  secret  it  is.  I  will  never  speak  evil  of  a 
brother  57,  either  before  his  face  or  behind  his  back.  I  will  never  dishonor  the 
wife  or  daughter  of  a  57,  I  knowing  them  to  be  such,  but  I  will  shield  and  protect 
t^ie  character  of  all  57  whom  I  may  know  to  be  such,  their  wives,  daughters  and 
families. 

3d.  I  will  oppose,  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  and  never  consent,  but  vote  against 
the  admission  of  any  confirmed  drunkard,  professional  gambler,  rowdy,  convict, 
feloa,  68,  (Abolitionist,)  negro,  Indian,  minor,  idiot  or  69,  (Foreigner.)  to  member- 
ship in  this  department  of  the  33,  but  I  will  get  as  many  good  and  eligible  70 
(Southern  born  men)  to  join  this  Degree  as  I  can. 

4th.        *  *  * 

6th.        *  *  * 

6th.  I  do  promise  and  vow  that  I  will  use  my  best  exertions  to  find  out  any  t»nd 
every  68  (Abolitionist)  in  my  county,  whether  71  (man,  woman  or  child',")  and  for- 
ward  the  name  of  such  to  56,  (George  Bickley,)  or  his  lawful  fucces?or,  or,  in  cas-* 
I  remain  in  tha  72    (Hnitcd  States)  after  56  and  the  .33  have  gone  to  2  (Mexico,)  I 


86  RITUAL  Of  THE  * 

Will  report  the  same  to  the  GoTernor-G«neral  of  this  State,  and  I  will  keep  a  clo8o 
vatch  on  all  such,  and  report  at  every  meeting  of  my  Ck)uncil,  for  the  information 
of  the  57  remaining  in  the  72  (United  States.)  If  I  know  of  any  G8  who  is  a  73 
(stranger  or  traveler)  trading  with  100  (negroes,)  or  doing  any  other  unlawful  act, 
I  will  at  once  inform  all  67  in  my  county — shall  call  the  57  to  meet  in  council,  that 
proper  steps  may  be  taken  for  74  (his  exposure.) 

7th.  If  any  75  (insurrection)  shall  be  started,  and  it  comes  to  my  knowledge,  I 
will  do  all  I  have  promised  above.  Or  should  my  State,  or  any  other  7G,  (Southern 
State,  be  77  (invaded)  by  68,  (Abolitionists,)  I  will  muster  the  largest  force  I  can, 
and  go  to  the  scene  of  danger,  if  well  and  able  to  go.  I  further  promise  to  do  all 
I  can  to  build  up  a  public  sentiment  in  my  State  favorable  to  18,  (the  expulsion  of 
free  negroes,)  that  they  may  be  sent  to  2  (Mexico.)  I  further  promise  that  no  79 
(free  negro)  shall  marry  80  (my  slave,)  or  80  marry  a  79  if  I  can  prevent  it. 

8th.  I  also  promise  to  report  to  the  Governor-General  of  the  State  the  names  of 
all  67  (Roman  Catholic)  ministers  in  my  county,  as  well  as  of  all  31  (Northern 
teachers,)  and  no  69  (foreigners)  or  68  (Abolitionists)  shall  ever  receive  this  degree 
if  I  can  prevent  it — one  negative  vote  only  being  necessary  to  reject  any  one  from 
receiving  this  Degree,  which  vote  must  be  taken  before  the  candidate  has  been 
approached. 

9th.  I  will  protect  and  defend  all  widows  and  orphans,  to  the  best  of  my  ability, 
and  especially  those  of  a  57,  and  I  vow  I  will  never  desert  the  57,  or  their  cause  and 
aims,  while  three  members  remain  and  consent  to  propagate  it.  And  should  they 
succeed  in  82  (conquering  and  Southernizing)  the  whole  or  any  part  of  2  (Mexico) 
I  will  do  all  I  can  to  prevent  any  67  (Roman  Catholic)  from  being  appointed  to  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust,  and  even  in  the  72  (U.  S.)  I  will  always  give  the  preference 
to  60  (a  Protestant,)  and  especially  to  57.  I  will  do  all  I  can,  as  an  honorable  man, 
to  make  58  (a  Slave  State)  of  2.  As  such,  I  will  urge  its  83  (annexation)  to  72  (U. 
S.;;  otherwise  I  will  oppose  it  with  equal  zeal.  In  2  I  will  endeavor  to  cause  to  be 
opened  to  the  public  all  84,  (nunneries,  monasteries  or  convents,)  and  there  shall 
be  no  advantages  to  67  (Roman  Catholic)  which  is  not  equally  accorded  to  60  (Prot- 
estant.) The  50  (Bible)  shall  be  adopted  for  use  in  all  public  schools,  and  any  85 
(Priest)  who  shall  be  detected  in  86,  (gambling,  or  violating  the  ordinances  of  re- 
ligion,) shall  be  expelled  from  2.  Any  minister  holding  any  place  under  the  Gov- 
ernment must  be  60  (Protestant.) 

10th.  All  civil  places  of  prominence  shall  be  given,  so  far  as  my  influence  goes, 
to  57,  ^Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star,)  and,  when  these  are  supplied,  to  the  18 
(True  Faith  ;)  then  to  the  1  (Knights  of  the  Iron  Hand.)  I  will  advocate  the  es- 
tablishment of  63  (a  government)  which  shall  place  the  power  in  the  hands  of  th© 
most  educated  and  moral,  and  oppose  the  recognition  of  any  87  (Negro,  Mulatto, 
Indian  or  mixed  blood,)  to  citizenship.  I  will  sustain  the  effort  to  reduce  the  88 
(Peon  system)  to  89,  (Perpetual  Slavery,)  and  to  divide  them  to  1,  (Knights  of  the 
Iron  Hand,)  18,  (True  Faith,)  and  57,  (Knights  of  the  Columbian  Star,)  in  the  pro- 
portion of  1,  2,  3,  to  have  and  hold  forever.  But  the  sam«  laws  shall  be  enacted 
for  their  protection  as  are  recognized  in  every  other  58  (Slave  State.) 

11th.  Until  the  whole  civil,  political,  financial  and  religious  reconstruction  of  2 
(Mexico)  has  been  completed,  I  will  recognize  a  90  (Limited  Monarchy)  as  the  best 
form  of  63  (Government)  for  the  purpose  in  view,  sihce  it  can  be  tnade  strong  afild 
effective. 

12th.  To  prevent  the  entrance  of  any  68  (Abolitionist)  into  2  (Mexico,)  I  will  sus- 
tain a  passport  system,  and  any  and  every  73  (stranger  or  traveler)  shall  go  before 
the  customs  officer  at  the  port  of  his  entry,  and  there  take  an  oath,  stating  whether 
he  intends  to  become  a  citizen,  and,  if  so,  that  he  will  sustain  and  support  the 
government  then  in  existence,  and  that  he  will  not  interfere  with  the  system  of  89 
(perpetual  slavery)  then  recognized,  but  that  he  will  obey  the  laws  then  recognized. 
If  he  be  a  traveler  merely,  he  shall  give  up  his  passport  to  the  Chief  of  Police  on 
his  entrance  into  each  town,  and  which  shall  be  returned  to  him  on  demand  of  the 
same  officer,  when  about  to  leave  for  another  place.  And  any  73  who  shall  pass,  or 
attempt  to  pass,  without  a  passport,  shall  be  arrested  and  expelled  from  the  coun- 
try, and  upon  resistance  he  shall  be  shot ;  but  every  traveler  so  entering  2  (Mexico) 
must  be  informed  of  this  rule. 

13th.  The  successor  to  56  (George  Bickley)  must  be  over  thirty  years  of  age,  of 
Southern  birth,  liberally  educated,  a  57,  (Knight  of  the  Columbian  Star,)  sound 
of  body  and  mind,  and  married,  and  GO  (a  Protestant.)  Ho  shall  swear  to  carrj 
out  this  policy,  and  to  ext«nd  91  (slavery)  over  the  whole  of  92,  (Central  America,) 
if  in  his  power.  He  shall  try  to  acquire  93,  (Cuba,)  and  control  94  (the  Oulf  of 
Mexico.)    No  one  else  will  I  sustain.     But  for  such  a  one,  who  must  be  propose(? 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE.  87 

»y  the  95,  (Cabinet  Minister,)  and  elected  by  all  57,  or  a  majority  of  tkem,  I  will 
sustain  here,  there,  or  elsewhere.  When  the  33  (K.  G.  C.)  cross  the  5  (Rio  Grande) 
I  will  do  all  I  can  to  send  in  96  (recruits  for  the  army,)  and,  if  I  should  ever  eeaae 
to  be  an  active  worker  for  the  57,  I  will  keep  secret  wha£^  I  know  of  the  real  char- 
acter of  the  organization,  and  I  promise  never  to  confer  this  Degree  in  any  other 
way  than  in  the  way  I  have  here  received  it,  and  I  will  forward  to  56,  (Georgi* 
Bickley,)  or  to  the  Governor-General  of  this  State,  the  name  and  fees  of  every  can- 
didate whom  I  shall  initiate  as  Governor.  In  witness,  I  do  voluntarily,  here  in 
these  presence,  sign  my  name  and  P.  0.  Address.    [Governor  asks,  "  will  you  sign  ?"] 

Secretary.  Perhaps  you  had  better  hear  the  whole  degree  and  then  sign,  for, 
unless  we  have  your  entire  approbation,  we  do  not  wish  to  commit  you  to  anything. 
I  am  well  aware  that  this  whole  scheme  is  a  bold  and  daring  one,  that  can  but  sur- 
prise you  at  first,  as  it  did  me,  and  for  this  reason  I  beg  to  state  a  few  facts  for  your 
consideration.  In  the  rise  and  progress  of  Democracy  in  America,  we  have  seen 
its  highest  attainment.  In  the  very  outset,  it  was  based  on  high  religious  princi- 
ples, and  adopted  as  a  refuge  from  despotism.  In  the  North,  Puritanism  melted  it, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  leave  out  the  natural  conservative  element  of  all  Democracies, 
97  (domestic  slavery.)  As  a  result,  we  have  presented,  now,  social,  religious  and 
political  anarchy.  From  Millerism  and  spiritualism,  every  Utopian  idea  has  nu- 
merous advocates.  The  manufacturer  is  an  aristocrat,  while  the  working  man  is  a 
serf.  The  la1g;er  class,  constantly  goaded  by  poverty,  seek  a  change,  they  cara  not 
what  it  may  be.  Democracy,  unrestrained  by  97,  (domestic  slavery,)  multiplies 
the  manufaAiring  classes  indefinitely,  but  it  debases  the  mechanic.  Who  ever 
knew  a  pracMcal  shoemaker,  or  a  maker  of  pinheads,  to  have  a  man's  ambition  7 
They  own  neither  land  or  property,  and  have  no  tie  to  the  institutions  of  the  coun- 
try. The  Irishman  emigrates,  and  the  Frenchman  remains  at  home.  The  one 
hates  hjs  country,  the  other  adores  his.  The  Frenchman  is  a  slaveholder  and  a 
man.  The  Irishman  is  a  serf  and  an  outcast.  The  South  is  naturally  agricultural, 
and  the  farmer,  being  most  of  the  time  in  the  midst  of  his  growing  crops,  seeing 
the  open  operations  of  nature,  his  mind  expands,  he  grows  proud  and  ambitious 
af  all  around,  and  feels  himself  a  man.  He  wants  no  change,  either  in  civil,  polit- 
ical or  Feligious  affairs.  He  cultivates  the  soil,  and  it  yields  him  the  means  to  pur- 
chase labor.  Ba  becomes  attached  to  home  and  its  associations,  and  remains  for- 
ever a  restrained  t)emocrat,  restrained  by  moral  and  civil  law  from  any  and  all  overt 
acts.  He  needs  and  makes  a  centralized  government,  because  his  property  is  at 
stake  when  anarchy  prevails. 

Governor.  Now,  in  the  case  of  2  (Mexico ;)  suppose  we  were  to  elevate  to  citi- 
zenship 87,  (Negro,  Mulatto,  Indian  or  mixed  blood,)  do  you  not  see  at  once  that 
the  very  act  would  undo  all  the  results  of  82 '^conquering  and  Southernizing?") 
We  should  be  voted  back  to  72  (U.  S.)  the  day  of  the  first  election.  None  but  whit» 
89  (landholders;  should  be  allowed  the  exercise  of  the  citizen's  franchise.  These 
are  the  mem  who  pay  the  taxes  and  guard  the  people.  Again,  efficient  ofiBcers  re- 
quire exp«rience,  which  can  only  be  acquired  by  time,  hence  places  should  be  held 
as  long  as  the  holder  can  discharge  faithfully  and  efficiently  his  functions. 

Secretary.  You  will  therefore  see  that  we  labor  not  only  for  the  extension  of 
97  (Domestic  Slavery)  in  2  but  that  we  seek  to  make  63  (a  government)  strong 
enough  to  protect  and  perpetuate  it.  The  means  for  erecting  a  90  (Limited  Mon- 
archy) are  in  2.  They  only  require  to  be  used  well.  We  require  a  vast  number  of 
officers,  some  thousands  in  all.  Now  help  us  make  63  (a  government,)  and  go  you  and 
Bend  your  son  and  let  him  take  his  place.  The  work  ia  large,  and  there  are  plenty 
of  us  to  do  it.  Of  course  the  whole  scheme  must  be  managed  well.  As  soon  aa 
everything  is  reduced  to  order,  then  we  may  canvass  the  question  of  a  republic. 

Governor.  Vast  sums  will  be  needed.  2  can  furnish  every  dollar.  The  day  we 
cross  5,  (Rio  Grande, ^  parties  in  99  (Matamoras)  will  advance  us  §1,000,000,  and 
others  at  23  (Monterey)  2,000,000.  The  revenue  of  those  two  places  amounts  to 
$7,000,000,  and  the  other  cities  in  24  (Northern  Mexico)  very  large  sums.  The  33, 
then,  is  only  a  repetition  of  the  East  India  Co.,  or  the  Hudson  Bay  Co.  You  are 
now  a  stockholder.  Help  us  to  get  in  the  field,  with  your  money  and  your  influ- 
ence; help  us  to  procure  material,  for  you  are  as  much  interested  as  any  of  us. 
Money  will  follow  our  success.  We  shall  concentrate  in  20  (Encinal  Co.,  Texas)  by 
Sept.  15th,  1860,  [a  misprint,  we  presume,  for  1861.— Ed.  Journal.]  and  we  will 
cross  5  ^Rio  Grande)  by  the  Ist  day  of  6  (October.)  Now,  sir,  if  you  will  be  one 
of  U9,  either  to  go  or  to  stay  at  home,  you  will  sign  y»ur  name,  as  all  of  us  have 
done,  after  which  I  will  give  you  the  Ceremonial  of  this  Degree.  [Candidate  sigua 
at  the  end  of  the  work  ;  and  he  aho  tignx  hi*  own  work.] 

Skcretary.     The  ^iguis,  test  signs,  words  ;ind   passwords,  grips  and  pass-grips. 


88  RITUAL  OF  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CIRCLE. 

tokens  and  keys  of  this  Degree  must  be  well  learned,  for  on  their  proper  nse  de- 
pends your  standing  in  this  Order.     Notice  them,  practice  them,  and  heed  them. 

[T'he  candidate  is  hero  made  to  sign  the  obligation,  as  also  a  copy  for  himself. 
When  he  has  done  this,  present  him  with  a  copy  and  a  key  of  the  Degree.] 

Signs,  &c. — (These  are  now  to  be  given  in  full  and  explained.)    B®~See  Key. 

[The  key  here  mentioned  we  have.  We  will  give  it  in  such  a  form  that  the 
reader  will  understand  it.  The  sign  is  a  [raise  hat  with  left  hand  over  right,  open 
hand  on  top  of  head.}  The  countersign  isfe  [left  hand  with  hat  extended  to  right 
angles,  hand  by  side.]  The  silent  sign  is  c  [left  hqjid  on  back  of  head.]  The  an- 
swer is  d  [right  hand  on  forehead,  then  extended*  The  night  sign  is  e  [two  dis- 
tinct claps  of  hands,  and  repeat  once.]  The  test  sign  is  /  [finger  and  thumb  of 
left  hand  take  hold  of  lip.]  The  sacred  word  is  g  [Eloi.]  The  password  is  h  [An- 
dalusia,] and  to  this  is  added,  in  parenthesis,  "Notice  instructions  in  use  of  words." 
The  night  word  given  with  e  is  i  [high.]  The  grip  is  j  [as  given.]  The  pass  grip 
is  k  [same  with  left  hand,  still  holding  by  right.]  The  token  or  emblem  is  I  [same 
as  shown.]    The  answer  to/  is  m  [right  thumb  and  fore  finger  on  pit  of  stomach.] 

That's  all  we  have  at  present  to  give,  and,  as  we  have  said,  it  may  bo  relied  on  as 
authentic.  It  is  a  revelation  of  the  mysteries  of  an  Order  which  claims  to  be,  and 
no  doubt  is,  powerful  in  our  land.  Its  emissaries  have  lured  into  it  thousands  of 
young  men,  by  impressing  them  with  utterly  false  ideas  of  its  nature  and  designs. 
The  members  of  the  First  and  Second  degrees  know  nothing  of  the  Third,  although 
they  are  unwittingly  guided  and  controlled  by  it.  Lot  them  examine  the  revolt- 
ing character  of  the  obligations  of  the  Third  Degree,  and  then  make  all  haste  to 
repudiate  an  organization  that  deserves  the  scorn  and  abhorrence  of  all  just  men. 

The  reader  will  remark  that  General  Bickley  insists,  in  his  circular,  that  "it  is 
exceedingly  desirable  and  important  to  organize  the  State  of  Kentucky  before  the 
August  elections."  No  doubt  the  intention  of  the  Order  is  to  make  its  power  felt 
in  various  ways  on  the  day  of  the  election.  We  look  forward  with  no  little  inter- 
est to  the  result. 

The  Roman  Catholics  and  foreign  born  citizens  will  find  much  in  the  Ritual  of 
the  Third  Degree  deserving  their  attention.  Irishmen  in  particular  will  meet  with 
something  interesting  to  themselves. 

If  public  opinion  has  not  utterly  lost  its  virtue,  it  will  speedily  sweep  this  mis- 
erable order  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  Will  Geo.  Bickley  dare,  after  the  exposition, 
to  show  his  face  among  men?  Will  any  Knight  of  the  Golden  Circle  have  the  au- 
dacity to  avow  himself  one,  or  let  himself  be  known  as  one  ?  Is  it  true,  can  it  be 
true,  that  men  of  respectable  standing  in  our  community  acknowledge,  either  be- 
fore the  world  or  in  their  own  hearts,  the  obligations  of  the  Third  Degree  of  this 
infamous  association  ? 

The  K.  G.  C.'s  declare  for  a  Limited  Monarchy,  and  say  that  it  will  be  time 
enough  to  discuss  the  question  of  a  Republic  when  all  the  extraordinary  purposes 
that  they  propose  to  themselves  shall  have  been  accomplished. 

The  K.  G.  C.'s  of  the  Third  Degree,  it  seems,  look  keenly  to  office.  They  require 
that  all  the  members  of  their  Degree  shall  have  offices  before  any  member  of  the 
Second  Degree  can  be  accommodated,  and  that  all  the  members  of  the  Second  De- 
gree shall  be  provided  with  offices  before  a  solitary  individual  of  the  First  can  be 
accommodated.  But  then  they  say  that  they  are  going  to  have  thousands  of  offi- 
ces, and  they  mean  that  the  incumbents  of  offices  shall  hold  on  for  life. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  members  of  the  Third  Degree,  Knights  of  the  Columbian 
Star,  as  they  call  themselves,  guard  carefully  in  their  Ritual  against  ever  being 
known  as  such,  even  to  their  brethren  of  the  First  and  Second  Degrees. 

Let  all  bear  steadily  in  mind  that  t'ne  Order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle 
is  now  and  has  all  along  been  the  central  sun  of  the  Secession  party  of  Kentucky. 


^^ 


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